A Hybrid's Adventure
by Alana Quinn
Summary: Gohan gets sucked up in a wormhole and is transported to the past, where he has to adjust to unfamiliar surroundings and people, at the same time having to cope with no powers as they were sucked away from him. Author's note. *Complete*
1. The tornado of time

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball z. If I did I wouldn't have made Gohan such a nerd when he grew up.                      Chapter 1: The tornado of time 

The sun shone down, lighting up a small house, sitting alone amongst the trees. Little movement could be seen, but if you looked closely, you could see a single line of smoke coming out of the chimney, which was being made by a young mother cooking lunch for her husband and son.

           In one of the two bedrooms, there is a small boy sitting at a desk, busily writing something, pushing his long, spiky hair out of his face, every few sentences.

           The boy, although only the size of about a seven year old, is well into his ninth year. His spiky, black hair is shoulder length and tied back with a rubber band. He wore a red shirt and blue dungarees, which had the bottoms turned up, so that his small feet could poke out, showing off his shiny, new, black shoes. His eyes squinted in concentration as he did his work, until a shout from his mother broke his concentration.

       "Goku! Gohan! Lunch is ready!"

Gohan jumped out of his chair, knocking his morning's work on the floor, and ran out of his bedroom. He bumped into his father in his hurry to get to the kitchen.

       "Um, sorry dad." The demi-saiyan said, pulling himself to his feet again.

       "It's okay, son." An obviously startled Goku replied.

Father and son then entered the kitchen together and sat down at the table, where Chi- Chi had laid out their lunch.

             Chi-Chi had allowed Gohan to go fishing with his dad for a couple of hours before his afternoon studying. So when the table had been cleared, Gohan and Goku waved goodbye to Chi-Chi and flew off to their favourite lake.

             Goku lay flat on his back as he watched his young son dive gracefully into the clear, blue water. Straight away Gohan's head popped up, a huge grin spread across his face, and he pulled a gigantic fish out of the water and chucked it in his father's direction, triumphantly.

             Goku caught it, rolling over several times, then grinned back at his son. He was getting stronger everyday.

             Gohan dived under the water again. This was great, two hours of hanging with his dad. He hated studying, especially when it was sunny outside. The water felt so cool. He felt like diving from the top of the waterfall again. You couldn't beat the feel of the wind against your face and the cool splash at the bottom.

             Gohan flew out of the water and up onto the cliff edge. He'd make his dive even better this time. He loved seeing his dad watch him, with pride evident in his eyes. It made him push harder to do well, knowing that it pleased his dad.

             Gohan made ready to dive, stretching his arms out in front of him and bending his knees, he took one last look at his dad, smiled, then jumped.

             Goku watched as his son fell gracefully towards the water for the second time. It was even better than his last dive.

             Suddenly a strong wind got up and a cloud, or what looked like a cloud, swept up and completely devoured Goku's young son. Goku held his arms over his eyes to block out the dust and other debris, which the fierce wind was bringing up, and shouted out for his son over the raging noise of the wind.

        "Gohan!!!!!!!!!!!"

                When the winds finally died down enough for Goku to uncover his eyes, he saw something that broke his heart. Floating in the water where Gohan should have been was his rubber hair tie and a few strands of black hair. His son was nowhere to be seen. He could no longer feel his son's ki, but somehow he knew he was alive, he just didn't know where his young son was.

            Gohan fell straight into the tornado esqe wind and immediately felt that he was being stripped of something. As he ventured to open his eyes, he saw a mix of grey and black, swirling round in front of him, as he went hurtling through the mass of dull colour. Where was he going? What was happening? And where was his daddy?

             After what seemed like days, Gohan landed, with a bump, on the ground. He came to his senses after a couple of minutes, and looked up at his surroundings, hoping to see his dad's broad smile greet him.

             What he saw was anything but his father. Staring down at him was a man. An old man. Probably pensioner age.

             The old man had dirty grey hair that hung down past his ears. His clothes were tattered and filthy, but what surprised Gohan most was the style of the torn clothing. They reminded him of a History book his mom gave him to read a few weeks ago. In the Victorians section, the pictures showed clothes like this old man's. The man was also definitely not Japanese.

        "Get out of my spot, boy."  The man barked.

Gohan looked at him in bewilderment. 

        "Your spot?" He asked, uncertainly.

        "Yes! My spot." He barked again. "Now move on, kid."

Gohan pulled himself to his feet and walked away. What the hell was he gonna do? And how the hell did he speak in English? He knew a few words in English, but he didn't know it fluently.

            As he walked past a shop, the window showed his reflection, and it was then that he saw that he too was wearing the weird Victorian clothing. What happened to his favourite pair of dungarees? He slumped down onto the hard floor to mull things over.     

            Back in normal time, Japan.

       "What do you mean Gohan just vanished?" Chi-Chi screeched at her husband, on the brink of hysterics.

       "Well one minute he was diving through the air, next minute he's swallowed up by this tornado cloud." Goku explained, a bit too casually.

       "My poor baby! Chi-Chi cried, before fainting.

Goku tended to his wife and then left her in the care of Ox-King. He then instant-translocated to where Piccolo was meditating. 

            Piccolo looked up, as Goku appeared in front f him, and immediately saw his pained expression.

       "What's wrong, Goku?" He asked, already half knowing the answer.

       "Gohan's disappeared. He got swallowed up by this tornado thingy and just vanished." Goku replied. The sadness and anxiety in his voice digging into the Namekian.

After some thought, Piccolo said,

        "A wormhole! I've heard of them before. Just sucks the chosen person up."

        "Can we get him back, Piccolo?" Goku asked, hope creeping into his voice.

        "If it's what I think it is, Gohan's the only person who can get himself back. He has to find the way." Piccolo lowered his head in a dejected way as he said this.

Goku just nodded his thanks to Piccolo and instant-translocated away. Hs grieve hung in the air after he had gone. He felt helpless. He wanted to help his son.            

Author note: This is my first fic so I don't know if it's any good, but I like it. Read and review, please. Next chapter soon.       


	2. A long way from home

Author note: Hurakotay, thanks for your review. I know about Ki signatures, but the        

                      fic doesn't work if Gohan's super strong and can fly. He will get his

                      abilities back eventually, and there is going to be a battle showdown.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z. I wish! Boo hoo.

Chapter 2: A long way from home 

            As night was settling in, Gohan still hadn't found any answers. He was beginning to wonder where he should go for the night. He'd slept rough before, many times, but never in a place as crowded as this. There seemed to be so many people, like the old man, just sleeping on the side of the road. It confused Gohan. He knew of homeless people and he'd seen them in cities in Japan, but he'd never seen this many, all on the same street.

       "Hey squirt!"

Gohan looked up, startled, and saw a scruffy looking youth. He must have been about 15 or 16. 

       "Your new on this street, aren't you, kid." The youth carried on.

       "Eh, what?" Gohan muttered back, even more confused.

       "Don't play dumb with me kid." The youth yelled at Gohan, then pulled him up by the scruff of the neck and looked him straight in the eye.

       "Hey! Lemme go!" Gohan cried, squirming like a fish.

The youth dropped him and Gohan fell hard on the floor. 

I've finally worked it out, Gohan thought. I've lost the ability to manipulate my ki. That guy shouldn't have been able to hurt me, but he did. That means I can't fly, or fire ki blasts!

       "Oi! I'm talking to you." The youth said, poking his finger into Gohan's chest.

       "Oh, I'm, er, sorry." Gohan replied, quickly.

       "So are you new here or what?" The youth pressed, impatiently.

       "Er, yeah." Gohan answered.

       "Okay then, that's all I needed." The youth said. "My name's Jack. Come with me and meet the rest of the gang."

Gohan, although very uncertain, followed. After all, what else was he gonna do.

            After walking through lots of rubbish littering the road, and past many more men and women like the old man he'd spoken to, Gohan stopped as Jack did. Jack then started climbing the drainpipe attached to the building they had stopped outside.

       "Up there?" Gohan asked, uncertainly.

       "Yeah! Your not scared are you, shrimp?" Jack asked, mockingly.

       "No! No, course not." Gohan replied, putting on a brave face. It scared him, not being able to manipulate his ki. He felt pain at the slightest thing.

            Half way up the drainpipe, Gohan's foot slipped and he fell a metre or so down before managing to regain his hold.

       "You alright down there, kid?" Jack shouted down.

       "Yeah, um, no problem." Gohan shouted back. Phew! That was too close, he thought.

            They finally reached the top, and what Gohan saw totally blew him away. About 20 boys and girls, ranging from his age to Jack's age, were living on this roof. Wearing clothes that were torn, filthy and too small for them, they had rags that they slept under, some of which already had occupants. It was then that Gohan realised there were even younger kids, already asleep under these rags.

            Jack motioned for Gohan to follow him again, so he made his way across the roof, carefully stepping around the sleeping figures. He felt uncomfortable having all eyes focused on him, from those children still awake. Noticing Gohan's uncomfortable expression, Jack quietly said,

       "Don't worry about them. They've never seen an oriental before. Oh, by the way, how did you get to London?"

Gohan stared back at him in, horrified. London! He thought he must be in England, but having it confirmed just shocked him.

       "I, er, don't really know, to be honest with you." Gohan replied, truefully.

       "Oh! Never mind." Jack's expression softened. "What's your name, kid?"

       "Er, Gohan." He replied, blushing slightly.

       "You sure know your English, Gohan." Jack complimented. "Welcome aboard, kid."

Gohan stared in amazement, as all the kids, who were awake, came up to him, shook his hand, spoke his or her name to him, and then settled down under their rags for sleep. Gohan, completely over-whelmed by all this, was blinking sleep out of his eyes. Jack passed him a rag to sleep under. Gohan accepted it, gratefully, and found a spot near the middle of the roof to settle on.

            As he was laying out his rag, he saw another kid, probably about 14 years old, poke his head over the top of the roof, as he ascended the drainpipe. He had a newspaper in one hand, as he eased himself up onto the roof. Gohan caught site of the date of the newspaper, as the boy walked past him. 25th October 1900. Gohan jolted with shock. 1900! He had travelled into the past somehow, and had ended up in Victorian London.

            As he settled to get some sleep, Gohan's thoughts rested with his mother and father. He missed them so much, and they must be so worried about him. A tear rolled down his cheek. Why did that tornado have to whisk him away from his home? And away from his mother and father? He gently cried himself to sleep, wishing with all his might that he were back in his warm bed at home, with his mom and dad not far from him.


	3. Dragonballs and stealing

Author note: Jester Fraser. Thanks a lot for your reviews. They mean a lot. Yes

                     London is a long way from Japan, and not to mention he's in a different

                     timeline, oh well. Hope you like this chapter.

**               Chapter 3: Dragonballs…..and stealing!**

Real time, Japan.

       "So you see, Krillen, the tornado just swallowed Gohan up and I lost all sense of him." Goku explained, his voice full of dejection, as he told his best friend what had happened to his only son.

Krillen stared at Goku, disbelief spread across his features. His mouth opened and shut, like a fish, as he tried to find the right words to say to his life long friend. Then his eyes brightened up and he said,

       "Why don't you use the dragonballs and wish him back here."

Goku's face brightened up to match his friend's.

       "Your right, Krillen! I'll go and get the dragon radar from Bulma, and go and find them all."

With that Goku instant translocated to Bulma's house, feeling a lot happier.

London, 1900.

            Gohan woke up with a jolt. He'd done that a lot during the night, but this time it was properly morning. He'd had a dream about how his mother and father were just getting on with life and were forgetting about him. He knew this wouldn't be the case, but it still terrified him.

       "Hey, kid! Your finally awake."

It was the boy that had had the newspaper last night.

       "Er, good morning." Gohan said, sleepily.

       "Come on! We gotta go get some food." The boy ordered in reply.

Gohan pulled himself to his feet and followed, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked.

            As they descended the drainpipe, the boy shouted up to him.

       "By the way, I'm William, but you can call me Will."

       "Okay." Gohan managed a reply as he concentrated on getting safely to the floor.

When they reached the bottom, Will motioned for Gohan to follow him down a narrow alleyway. He looked down it, uncertainly. It was very dark. He put his brave face on again and followed Will into the dingy beyond.

            The alley was lined with gutters either side. They were of muddy water, as Gohan found out when he got a foot full.

       "Yuck!" Gohan shook his soggy foot.

       "Oh yeah. Um watch the gutters, Gohan." William warned, a bit too late.

            As they made it to the other side of the long, dark alleyway, the first thing that hit Gohan was the blinding light of the October sun. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a huge market place, bustling with people.

            Gohan followed Will down one of the aisles in the huge market. The stalls were full of fruit and veg.

        "The roof-top gang has to separate into twos to get breakfast." Will explained, quietly to Gohan.

        "Oh, and, er, how do you get breakfast?" Gohan asked, hoping he wouldn't hear the answer he predicted.

        "Watch and learn, kid." The scruffy but handsome teenager replied.

Will moved in step with the moving crowd. Gohan watched, carefully, as Will became one with everybody else. His eyes widened as Will's hand whipped like lightening, across a fruit stall, gripped an apple and then vanished into the crowd again. Gohan quickly surveyed all the bystanders; no one appeared to have seen. Will suddenly tapped his shoulder, Gohan spun round. Will stood there, coolly taking a bite out of his stolen apple. Gohan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Real time, Japan.

            Goku appeared in Capsule Corp in an instant. Bulma looked up from her computer, startled.

       "Oh, it's you Goku." She said, relieved. "What can I do for you?"

       "I need to borrow the dragon radar please, Bulma." Goku replied, his face very serious once again.

       "Oh okay, sure." Bulma said, a confused expression in her eyes. "What's wrong, Goku?"

       "Sorry Bulma. No time to explain." Goku said hurriedly, accepting the radar. "Thanks for this, Bulma."

Goku waved the radar at her and then instant translocated away.

London, 1900.

       "So you see, Gohan, stealing's the only way for us to survive, if we don't want to go to the workhouse."

Gohan looked at Will, still very unsure. Stealing was a bad thing to do. His mom said even begging was better than stealing. The thought of his mother forced Gohan to blink back a tear. 

The problem was, Gohan was starving. He couldn't have eaten for 20 hours now, and being a saiyan, eating was a big priority.

       "So! What are ya gonna do, Gohan? The workhouse is a hell no. I've heard they make kids eat raw mice. I'd rather die than go there."

Will looked expectantly at the small boy, stuck in his morale decision. Gohan slowly looked up.

       "Okay. I'll do it. I'll steal an apple."

Will clapped Gohan on the back.

       "Good boy. Follow me."

They walked down the same market aisle. Will leading Gohan, whose head drooped, dejectedly.

       "Now, just do as I showed you and you'll be fine." Will whispered in Gohan's ear.

Gohan took a deep breath and moved into the crowd. He felt hot, and claustrophobic, the crowd closed in around him. The stall felt light years away. He tried to keep his expressions neutral and look as inconspicuous as possible. This couldn't be hard, could it? His stomach growled, making him move to his target stall faster. 

Before he knew it he was walking past the stall. He raised his hand, seized an apple and quickly brought his hand down to his side. He then, as casually as he could manage, doubled back and rejoined Will.

       "That was really well done." Will applauded, quietly.

Gohan lowered his head once more. He felt so ashamed and Will was just singing his praises.

They left the market, both boys munching their apples.

       "Cor, you're a really fast learner, Gohan." Will complimented. "Not even Jack could have been that smooth on his first go."

       "Oh." Gohan replied. He didn't like Will going on about it. He felt so ashamed.

Will gave Gohan a side-ways glance, took his expression for embarrassment and carried on walking. 

The drainpipe seemed to appear much sooner than Gohan thought it would. As they ascended, Will asked Gohan how long he'd been in London.

         "Not long." Gohan replied, truefully, as he carefully climbed the slowly rotting pipe.

         "When did you learn English? Will asked, looking slightly confused.

Gohan thought fast.

         "I've lived in England most my life. My family migrated here when I was four."

Gohan squeezed his hand into a fist. He hated to lie so deliberately. 

         "Oh! Um, where'd you live before this?" Will asked, as he levered himself onto the rooftop.

Gohan quickly racked his brains, trying to remember another city in England. His mom had made him copy the British Isles down once, when he was studying, but that seemed like a lifetime ago.

A city came to him as he joined Will on the rooftop.

         "I lived in Birmingham." Gohan said finally.

Will was about to further his friendly interrogation, when he was interrupted by Jack.

         "How did it go?" He asked, nodding slightly towards Gohan.

         "Really well! The kid's a natural." Will replied, enthusiastically to the older boy.

Gohan blushed and looked down at his feet. For some reason he felt really shy in front of Jack today, and the reminder of what he'd just done brought the shameful expression back into his black eyes.

         "Nice one, Gohan!" Jack said, clapping the boy on the back. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang."

Gohan followed Jack to meet the younger members of the gang.

Author Note: Well there you are chapter 3 is up. I hope you like it. Chapter 4 will be          

                       along soon. Read and review, please.


	4. The failed wish!

 A/N: Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I've been busy playing soccer. Fed up cos we lost 9-1. Anyway, next chapter.

                                                          **Chapter 4: The failed wish!**

Real time, Japan.

         Goku landed on the lookout, looking thoroughly pleased with himself, clutching a bag containing all seven dragonballs. Using his instant-translocation technique, he had gathered them all in no time.

         He was greeted by Mr Popo, and then Kami walked over to join them.

      "Ah, Goku! You're here to make your wish." Kami said in greeting.

Goku nodded, his face very serious once more.

      "Very well, put the dragonballs down there." Kami pointed to the floor, towards the centre of the lookout.

After Goku had placed all seven balls down, Kami shouted,

      "Arise, great Shenron!"

The balls started to glow and the sky went black. Then the green dragon rose up, as if from nowhere, and coiled its body to resume his normal shape, giving off a yellow aura. Then the eternal dragon, Shenron, spoke.

      "I can grant you one wish within my power. Speak it now."

Goku looked up at the gigantic dragon, he'd first seen when he was a boy, and spoke his chosen wish.

      "Please bring my son back from where ever he is now!"

Shenron's eyes went red, and for what seemed like years, Goku waited.

      "Your wish cannot be granted!"

The dragon's voice echoed around the floating platform, hovering above the earth.

      "W…why?" Goku's face fell down to his feet.

Shenron replied in his booming voice.

      "It is beyond my power to bring back your son, because he is in a different time zone."

Goku stared at the dragon in disbelief. A different time zone? Where? What should he wish for now? And more importantly, how was he gonna get Gohan back?

London, 1900.

         Gohan woke up on his third day in the past. His tummy rumbled. All he'd eaten yesterday was the apple he'd stolen for breakfast and bread and oranges, Jack had brought in the late afternoon. He missed his mother's cooking terribly. He pulled his rag around himself more tightly, the late October wind biting into his skin.

       "Morning Gohan."

Will patted Gohan on the shoulder. Gohan stared up at him and stifled a yawn.

       "Morning W…"

       "No time, kid, we gotta go. Hurry up!" Will interrupted.

Gohan pulled himself up, his aching back, where he'd been lying on the hard roof, protesting with every movement. Will was already on the ground when Gohan reached the top of the drainpipe.

       "Come on, Gohan! We gotta catch the morning rush." Will plunged his hands into his pockets and looked up at Gohan, impatiently. Gohan, seeing Will's look, quickly swung his leg onto the drainpipe and descended it with speed.

       "Wait for me, you two." Jack called, virtually sliding down the pipe. "I'll come with you this morning."

Jack joined them and they headed off down the alley to the market square.

         The market square was busy. Busier, even, than yesterday. Gohan thought the whole of London must be here. He wondered what they were gonna do today.

       "Hey Gohan! Look over there!" Will pointed at a man. He was wearing an expensive looking suit. His slightly grey hair was combed back, out of his eyes.

       "The man in the suit?" Gohan asked, confused.

Will and Jack smirked at each other.

       "Yeah Gohan. The man in the suit." Jack answered, grinning.

Gohan looked bewildered. "What are we gonna do?"

       "Follow me, Gohan." Will instructed, walking towards the man.

Gohan, completely confused, just trailed after Will and Jack.

Real time, Japan.

         Goku looked from Shenron to Mr Popo and then to Kami and back t Shenron again. What should he do? What should he wish for? Then like a light bulb turning on inside his head, Goku had an idea.

       "Shenron! Could you please keep my son alive while he's in this alternative timeline?"

The great dragon's eyes flashed red once more.

       "Your wish has been granted! Your son is temporarily immortal."

Shenron's yellow aura slowly disappeared and the great, coiled mass of scales followed the auras departure. The darkened sky lightened once more and all traces of the eternal dragon were gone.

Goku slid down to the floor and sighed.

       "At least Gohan can make it home safely, when he finds the way."

       "I'm glad you have faith in your son." Kami said. "I'm sure he'll find the way home."

Goku looked up at the aging Namekian and managed a small smile. Then got to his feet.

       "Thanks a lot for your help, Kami, you too Mr Popo. See you soon."

With that he placed his two fingers on his forehead and instant-translocated away from the lookout.

         Piccolo was hovering in the air, meditating by his usual waterfall, when Goku appeared. He guessed straight away that the wish had been unsuccessful because Gohan would have been with his father, otherwise.

       "Piccolo?" Goku asked, unsure if the Namek could hear him. 

Piccolo opened his eyes and stood on the ground before Goku, eyes and ears attentive.

       "Piccolo, it didn't work." Goku stated, and then proceeded to tell him exactly what had happened.

When Goku had finished, Piccolo said,

       "Well you've done all you can. The rest is up to Gohan." The Namekian then started meditating again.

Goku instant-translocated home to see his wife.

London, 1900.

         Gohan stood behind Jack and Will, as they took cover behind a wall. The man stood about six feet away, talking to a stall owner.

         Jack and Will were whispering to each other and then turned to Gohan.

      "In a minute, Gohan, we're going to casually walk past that man, and Jack's going to get us a lot of money." Will explained, smirking

Gohan looked aghast. "W…what do you want me to do?" he asked, unhappily.

Jack smiled at him, and said, "You and Will have got to talk to him. To distract him."

Gohan labouredly swallowed. O…okay." He agreed, reluctantly.

       "Let me do the talking, Gohan." Will said, confidently.

Gohan nodded and then drew in a sharp breath. Hoe could he do this? Help steal this man's hard earned cash. He was brought up as and honest boy, with good manners, not as a thief. Why did he have to come here? Why couldn't he be with his mother and father back in Japan?

         Jack gave a signal with his hand, and Will tugged Gohan's shirtsleeve, and stepped out into the crowds. They walked towards the man, who was just leaving the fruit stall he had stopped at.

       " 'scuse me, Guvnor. Can you help us please?" Will asked, innocently.

The man looked down at them and smiled.

       "What can I do for you, boys?" he asked, kindly.

Gohan looked down at his shoes. How could they steal off this man? He was being so kind.

       "Well you see. There's this old man who's making little kids steal for him." Will explained. At the same time he kept one eye on jack, who was calmly walking towards them.

       "Oh! What's this man's name?" The man asked.

       "I…I can't say." Will said, putting on a scared face. 

Jack sidled up to the man's pocket.

Gohan stared wearily around himself. How could he be doing this? He'd always helped people before.

       "It's okay, son." The man said, softly, mistaking Gohan's expression for anxiety.

Jack slipped his hand in the man's pocket and expertly pulled out the wallet.

       "Hey! That boy's stolen your wallet."

Gohan looked towards the voice, and saw a stall owner pointing at Jack.

Te man spun round, and grabbed for Jack, but missed him by a whisper. By the time he spun back round, Will had grabbed Gohan, and they bolted off in the other direction.

         Gohan snuck a look back as he ran. There were two policemen hot on their heels. He guessed the man was running after Jack. Will was just ahead of him.

Suddenly he fell headlong and realised he'd collided with a rubbish bin. He flew through the air and landed heavily on his back.

His head was spinning and his vision blurred, but he felt a hand roughly grab his shirt and then saw a blue blur. He realised a policeman had hold of him.

End chapter.

Ooh, cliffhanger. Don't worry I'll update soon, as long as you r&r, please!


	5. The workhouse

Disclaimer: (Oops, I forgot the disclaimer in the lost chapter) I do not own Dragonball 

                   Z, unfortunately.

A/N: Yes, I'm English. I've been trying hard to put American words in (eg.mom) but I forget sometimes. Rubbish bin is trash can, and guvnor is just a word lower class people used for gentlemen in Victorian times. (I think!) Anyway on with the chapter. 

                                       **Chapter 5: The workhouse!**

         The policeman pulled Gohan roughly to his feet. Gohan cringed, his aching back screaming at him. He hauled Gohan back down the road, towards the market. 

It seemed the other policeman had given up on Will, as he came running up behind them and said,

       "The other lad got away, John. We'll have to question this one."

He pointed at Gohan. The other officer nodded, and then pointed towards the man in the suit, who was walking towards them, holding his wallet.

       "I got my wallet back, but the boy got away." The man stated, before gaping at the sight of Gohan.

       "We caught this one but lost the other one." The policeman, holding Gohan, explained. "We'll take him down the station for questioning and then send him to the workhouse."

The man nodded, but looked sadly at Gohan, before turning and walking away.

Gohan stared after him, distraught. He was going to the workhouse! Will had told him he'd rather die than go to the workhouse.

 Gohan struggled. He had to get loose! He had to escape! He didn't want to go to the workhouse! He had to find the way home, to Japan, to his mom and dad. 

The other policeman grabbed him too.

        "This one's a boisterous one, John." He said, wrapping his arm around Gohan's, with great difficulty.

They dragged him off to the police station.

         Will finally caught up with Jack and coughed heavily.

       "Jack! They got Gohan! They're taking him down the station."

Jack stared at Will in disbelief and said,

       "I don't think he'll talk. He'll go straight to a workhouse now."

       "Which one do you think he'll be sent to?" Will asked, anxiously.

       "I'm not sure, but probably Greystones, that's the one nearest here." Jack replied. "Poor kid." He added.

Will and Jack walked, dejectedly, down the street to lie low for a couple of hours.

         Gohan was pushed into a chair, in a small, what must have been an interview room. The policeman sat across the table from him and drummed his fingers on the table to get Gohan's full attention. Gohan looked up to meet the officer's eyes, and set his face neutrally, determined not to give anything away.

       "What's your name, boy?" The policeman asked, gruffly. 

       "Gohan Son." Gohan answered, confidently, carefully masking the scared expression, threatening to creep into his eyes.

       "Gohan Son. How long have you in England?" The officer carried on.

Gohan quickly formulated an explanation in his mind.

       "About five years, sir." He replied, politely. 

The policeman eyed Gohan, distastefully.

       "Why did you leave Japan?" He asked.

Gohan looked down at the table. He hadn't expected that question.

       "Well boy?" The policeman pressed.

Gohan looked up. What he really wanted to say was that he didn't want to be in this stupid country, in this stupid time line. He wanted to be home with his parents. He couldn't say this, obviously, as they'd declare him mad. Instead he put on a pained expression and said,

       "I…I don't know why we left. I was only four years old. I just know we left in a boat and we went to live in Birmingham." Damn, I hate lying, he thought, thank Kami they're only white lies.

The policeman eyed Gohan some more and then said,

       "Where are your parents?"

       "They're…dead." Gohan lied, quickly crossing his fingers and thinking of his mom and dad.

       "Why did you come to London?" The officer asked.

       "I…um…I came because I was told there was more opportunities in London than in Birmingham." Gohan spurted out. Phew! He thought. That was too close.

       "You're a bit smart for a nine year old." The policeman quizzed. 

       "I am?" Gohan asked, innocently.

The policeman cleared his throat.

       "Anyway. Tell me, who were those boys you were with?" He asked, impatiently.

It was quite evident he didn't want to be here, doing this interview.

       "I don't know their names." Gohan lied. "I only just met them."

The policeman snorted.

       "You looked quite pally to me." He said.

Gohan shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

The policeman glared at Gohan, impatiently.

       "Are you going to tell me anything or not?" He asked, getting even more agitated.

Gohan almost felt sorry for the man but shook his head.

       "Fine!" The officer said. "I'll just send you straight to the workhouse."

With that, the officer stood up, grabbed Gohan by the collar, and dragged him out of the room.

         The policeman hurried Gohan out of the police station and down the hard, cobbled road.

       "Where are you taking me?" Gohan asked, even though he knew the answer.

       "The workhouse! Where you belong!" The policeman answered, nastily.

         After about 10 minutes, a large, grey building loomed in the distance. As they approached it, tall iron gates became visible in front of the building, with iron fencing either side. The metal was rusting in places and one of the bars in the fence was missing. Gohan shivered. He felt nothing but coldness from this place.

         The policeman pulled open the large gate and dragged Gohan through them, into the big courtyard. He swiftly pulled Gohan up to the front door and knocked.

After about a minute, the old door creaked open and a middle aged women stepped into the doorway. She looked angry, agitated, like she was ready to bite off somebody's head, but when she saw the policeman, her expression turned into a forced smile.

       "Good afternoon, officer. What can I do for you?" She asked, politely.

The policeman, respectably, removed his helmet and said,

       "Mrs Broom, a good afternoon to you too. I have a new inmate for you." He gestured to Gohan, who he still had hold of by the collar.

Mrs Broom carefully eyed Gohan from head to toe.

       "Is he an orphan? She inquired, sharply.

       "Yes! He says he is." The policeman replied. "Can you take him?"

Gohan looked up at this remark. What was that supposed to mean? Did he mean, did they have room for him? 

       "Yes, we can take him." She replied, briskly. "Leave him with me. He'll be sorted."

The policeman smiled politely at Mrs Broom, gave Gohan one lat disdainful look, and walked back up through the gates.

       "Come along, boy. Follow me!" She ordered, obviously in a hurry to get inside, out of the cold wind.

Gohan stumbled through the doorway. The room he was standing n was quite large. There was a bucket, holding umbrellas, in one corner, with coats hung on hooks above it. He was standing on a pale blue carpet, which looked nearly new. In fact this looked like any normal hall in a house. Gohan wouldn't have guessed that this was a workhouse, if he hadn't known.

He followed Mrs broom through another room, which only looked like some little box room, as it was tiny and virtually bare. They stopped outside a tall, sturdy looking door, and Mrs Broom knocked.

        "Who is it?" A male voice questioned from within.

        "It's me, dear." Mrs Broom answered. "I have a young boy with me to be registered."

        "Come in." He replied, with a softer tone, knowing he was speaking to his wife.

Mrs Broom pushed open the door, smiled at her husband, pushed Gohan into the room, and then turned to leave, pushing the door shut again.

         Gohan blinked at the sudden brightness of light, from the October sun, shining through the relatively large window. The room he was in, an office, judging by the desk and filing cabinet, was quite big, Compared to the box room he'd just left, that is.

Mr Broom sat in a chair behind the desk, which was at the back of the room. He had dark, greying hair, was cleanly shaven and had dark, questioning eyes, which kind of freaked Gohan out. He was wearing a grey suit, which stank of tobacco.

       "Have a seat, boy." Mr Broom gestured to a small, wooden chair, facing his desk.

Gohan sat down with a quiet sigh. He hadn't sat down sine he was in the police station.

Mr Broom picked up a pen and opened a big, red book.

       "What's your name?" He asked, in a bored sort of tone.

       "Gohan Son." Gohan replied, equally bored.

       "Gohan Son." Mr Broom echoed. "How old are you?"

       "Nine and a half, sir." Gohan answered, politely.

       "Bit well mannered for an orphan, aren't you?" Mr Broom commented

Gohan stared up at the man, speechless.

       "Never mind." Mr Broom dismissed, bored. "Follow me, boy." He ordered.

Gohan jumped up and followed the tall man out of the room.

         Gohan followed Mr Broom back into the box room and towards a different door. Mr Broom opened the door to reveal wooden stairs leading down.

       "Come along. Down here." Mr Broom said, walking across the floor to the stairs.

Gohan quickly followed suit, and they descended the dimly lit stairs.

         What greeted them at the bottom proved to Gohan that this was a workhouse. Two lines of boys, roughly around his age, stood respectably before them. Each one wearing identical, grey uniforms. Two burly looking men stood at one end of each line, keeping all the boys in check.

       "Jim!" Mr Broom addressed one of the two men. "This is Gohan Son." He pointed at Gohan. " He is new. Please get him a uniform and show him where to sleep."

The burly man nodded, and pushed Gohan through another door.

This room didn't seem to be very big either, just a storeroom. There was a cupboard at the back of the room. Jim walked over to it and pulled out a variety of sizes of the grey uniforms. He thrust one into Gohan's hand.

        "Try this one." He ordered, roughly.

Gohan looked at the uniform distastefully, and started to change into it. The shirt- sleeves were to long, as were the trousers, and the peaked, grey cap fell, half-covering, his eyes.

        "That'll do." Jim said, dismissively, eying Gohan, swiftly. "Follow me, boy."

Gohan followed the big man through yet another doorway, and then came into what must be a bedroom. There were twelve beds in here, all looking as hard as you could possibly get.

        "You'll be sleeping there." Jim pointed to a bed at the far end, next to the wall. Gohan nodded, despondently.

        "Now follow me. You're just in time for dinner." Jim told him, smiling faintly. "Welcome to Greystones." He added. 

End Chapter.

How was that then? I know there's lots of dialog in it, but I had to get all the interviews in to make it work. Anyway please r&r, and I'll update soon.


	6. Workhouse food and weed pulling

A/N: Sorry for the delay with this chapter, but you know the combination of

         Christmas and a lack of inspiration, or writer's block or something like that.

         Anyway here it is hope you like it and Happy New Year.            

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. "Cry." 

  **Chapter 6: Workhouse food and weed pulling.**

The dining room was very large, and it seemed, that the whole workhouse ate together, as Gohan saw men, women and children of all ages.            

Jim had told him to sit on the second row of tables with the other boys his age. Which was where he was now.

            The noise of everyone settling down, getting ready for their evening meal, echoed around the giant room, and didn't stop until there was a loud, commanding bang on a table, and Mr Broom, himself, stood at the head of the room.

      "We will give thanks to God, for our food, and then you'll come up table by table, as I call your group, to collect your meal." Mr Broom ordered, authoritivly. 

 Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub, Gohan thought, before covering a grin with his hand.

                     "Give us this day, our daily bread,

                       and lord, make us truly grateful.

                                         Amen." 

Gohan listened to the whole room, man and women, boys and girls, of all ages, recite the well known prayer, amazement spread across his face. How was it so structured in this place, he thought, there's so many people in here?

         "Green group first." Mr Broom commanded.

The younger children rose to their feet and walked towards the trolley, holding the food, two long lines of boys and girls, ranging from about 2 and 3 years old to about 7 years old.

            It was then that Gohan noticed red lining in his grey uniform. He must be in the red group.

        "Red group next." Mr Broom said, when the young children had sat back down with their meals.

Gohan rose with the other boys and followed them to the trolley. His stomach growled in anticipation. He hadn't eaten at all today. He felt like he was wasting away.

            As he reached the trolley, the stench of burnt…something, took over the air. The dinner lady was tall, with greasy hair. She looked down at Gohan, as he was shoved up to the trolley.

        "So you're the new boy." She said quietly, passing over his food on a plastic plate. "Enjoy your meal!" She added, with a slight smirk.

            Gohan quickly walked back to the table and sat down. He looked down at his meal, and had to suppress a yell. What the hell was this on his plate? It looked disgusting! The meat, whatever it was, looked well over-cooked. The potatoes, if that's what they were, were boiled so much they were about the size of a brussel sprout, and the measly amount of vegetables on his plate didn't look very appetizing either.

         "Is this it?" Gohan whispered to the boy sitting next to him.

         "Just eat it and be thankful you got that." The boy whispered back, before going back to devour his own.

            Gohan started to reluctantly eat the mess on his plate. He suppressed gags while eating the meat, and quickly took a drink of water, having just poured it into the plastic cup in front of him from the plastic jug.

            After dinner, they had to clean away their table and wait to be given permission to leave. Then he followed the rest of the boys out of the large dining hall.

        "Hey, where do we go now?" He asked the same boy he had spoken to at dinner.

        "Evening chores, duh." The boy replied, rudely. "I'm Benny by the way."

        "Oh!" Gohan muttered. "I'm Gohan."

Benny stared at Gohan and laughed.

        "Don't worry, Gohan. I'll take care of you. The workhouse isn't so bad, if you know what your doing. Stick with me." Benny said, offering his hand to Gohan.

Gohan shook his hand and managed a smile for his new friend.

Benny smiled back, his hazel eyes full of life, before flicking back his brown hair, which was growing down towards his eyes.  

        "Come on, Gohan. We better not be late. Its ten hits with the cane for tardiness." Benny warned, pulling Gohan's arm.

Gohan nodded and followed Benny, and the other boys, down the corridor.

            Several rooms later, Gohan found himself in a room with benches laid out in two rows. He followed Benny to the back bench and sat down.

        "What do we do now?" Gohan asked Benny, over the loud noise of the other boys sitting down.

        "We wait for our keepers, Jim and Bob. You know the two men you met earlier. They give us our jobs for the evening." Benny explained.

        "Oh! Um, okay." Gohan replied, still a little confused.

The two burly men, from earlier, came in. Bob, who was slightly taller and meaner looking than Jim, stamped his foot on the floor to gain the boys' attention. At this sound, all heads pointed forward, fully attentive.

        "Right you little urchins. Listen up." Bob said and started walking down the front bench. "This half of this bench will go to the kitchen, where you'll be given jobs. The other half will go to the sewing rooms."

The boys on the front bench stood up and split into two groups, and walked off in opposite directions. Bob moved closer to the bench Gohan sat on.

        "You little runts will go and help in the garden."

        "But, sir, its cold and dark." Gohan protested.

        "No answering back, you little brat. You'll do as your told." Bob shouted back. 

Gohan held his tongue but kept a stubborn look on his face. He may have lost his abilities, but he wasn't going to lose his spirit. He wouldn't be ground down like a lot of the other boys here were.

        "Come on." Benny whispered. "You don't want to get on the wrong side of Bob straight away. He's mean."

Gohan followed Benny, and the other boys on the bench, out of the door, into another room, which must be a cloakroom, as coats lined the walls, hung on hooks.

Benny took two coats off the hooks, and chucked one to Gohan.

        "Here wear this, Gohan, its cold out." Benny said.

        "Thanks." Gohan replied, pulling the thin, grey coat on, which, like the rest of his clothes, was too big.

        Hurry up, you young hooligans. Get outside, and report to Mr Grimes in the back garden." Bob ordered, as he entered the small cloakroom.

Gohan and Benny followed the other boys out the door. It was very cold outside, even with the coat on. It was pitch black, with a new moon just visible in the star less sky. They walked down a path for about three minutes, and then came to a halt outside a small hut.

A man of medium build and height came out of the hut. He wore a hut, which probably hid greying hair. Under the light of the candle he was holding, Gohan could see that his face was stubbly and he had a hooked nose, which stuck out at an odd angle.

He must have broken it before, Gohan thought.

        "You lot are a bit scrawny, but I suppose you'll do." Mr Grimes said in greeting, to the six young boys. "Come with me."

Gohan, Benny and the other four boys followed Mr Grimes further down the path. They kept walking until they got to a more disorderly part of the large garden.

        "I don't know how long you little runts will last out here, but there's a whole field of weeds out here, that need pulling, so that we can plant some good stuff in here." Mr Grimes explained.

        "Weed pulling? Doesn't sound to hard." Gohan whispered, having never done any gardening before.

        "Believe me, Gohan, you won't want to see another weed again after tonight." Benny warned, before motioning for Gohan to stay close to him.

        "Right, pair up and start at opposite ends of a row. Pull up all the weeds until you meet in the middle, then choose another row and repeat until I say otherwise." Mr Grimes ordered, in an authoritive tone. "Get moving and no slacking." 

Benny quickly pulled Gohan over to the nearest row, and told him to go to the other end.

Gohan knelt down and immediately felt his knees sink into the damp soil. He got into as comfortable position as he could manage, and started pulling up the dead weeds, still thinking he was better off than the boys in the sewing rooms.

            Two hours and ten rows later Gohan and Benny followed the other boys back up the path. Their hands were throbbing and they were soaked to the skin, as the kind English weather decided to give them a downpour.

        "Remind me never to weed again." Gohan groaned to Benny.

        "Well I hate to say this Gohan, but I told you say." Benny replied, managing a slight chuckle before shivering again.

They walked into the cloakroom, hung up their soaking coats, and walked through to the room with the benches, which was called the briefing room. Jim and Bob were standing at the front again. This time Jim spoke.

        "I'm sure you have all worked hard this evening, although we await reports of unruly behaviour." He began. "The boys who were outside come with me. The rest of you go with Bob.

Gohan got up with the others and trailed after Jim, deciding that Jim was much more likeable than Bob.

Jim led them through a couple of rooms, down a short staircase and finally stopped in a room with whitewashed walls.

In the centre of the room was a large, tin tub. As they approached it, they could see bubbly water inside.

        "Right, you six, get washed. Give your damp clothes to me, they'll be dried while you wash." Jim instructed.

The boys all took their soaking wet clothes off and handed them to Jim before jumping into the warm water, letting out sighs of content.

Gohan sat in the tub of bubbles, splashing warm water over himself, wondering why Will and Jack were so against the Workhouse. This was better than sleeping on that hard, cold roof and stealing food.

About ten minutes later, Jim returned with their dry clothes. They all reluctantly got out of the warm bath and dried themselves on old towels, which were laid out on the floor for them. Jim gave them their clothes and they got dressed.

        "Okay, follow me." Jim said, when they were all dressed. 

He led them out of the bathroom and through many more doors, until they reached the room with the beds in it.

        "Get into bed now, you have five minutes then its lights out." Jim told them.

The other boys were already settling down in their beds. Gohan walked over to the bed he'd been given earlier. Benny walked over to the bed next to him.

        Hey, cool. We're close enough to talk." Benny said quietly to Gohan.

They took their shoes and socks off and crawled under the thin covers, curling up to get warm.

Jim came round and blew out the candles, leaving the room in darkness. It was quiet apart from the two new best friends whispering to each other in the far corner of he room.

         "How long have you been here, Benny?" Gohan asked.

         "All my life." Benny replied, sadly. "My dad died just after I was conceived, my mum was sent straight to this workhouse. I was born here. I never really saw much of my mum while she was alive. They separate families. My mum died two years ago when I was eight. She couldn't cope with this lifestyle."

         "I'm sorry." Gohan whispered softly. Poor Benny, he thought, he's really got it bad here.

         "Anyway what about you, Gohan, how'd you end up here?" Benny asked, perking up a little.

         "To be honest, it's a bit of a long story. Basically I came to London, stayed with these kids who called themselves the rooftop gang, got caught by the police, and was sent here." Gohan replied, wishing he could tell Billy the truth but knew that it was pointless as Benny wouldn't believe him and would think he had gone crazy.

         "Oh!" Benny said. " Goodnight Gohan."

         "Goodnight Benny." Gohan replied, sleepily.

He fell asleep dreaming of swimming in a sea of weeds, trying to get to his father on the other side, but the weeds kept pulling him further and further away.

End Chapter.

How was that then? Worth the wait? I know it's a bit slow at the moment but their will be some action soon. Anyway r&r and I'll try and update quicker next time.   


	7. Pigs and chalk

A/N: Sorry Jester, dream meant nothing really. I just felt like adding it at the end. Thanks for all reviews, here's next chapter. Enjoy. Oh yeah, sorry for the dodgy chapter title. I ran out of ideas.  
  
Chapter 7: Pigs and chalk  
  
Gohan woke with a start, a loud ringing in his ears. Next to him Benny lay with his hands over his ears, with a scrunched up face. The wake up bell loud enough to wake a deaf person. When it finally stopped, Gohan looked across at Benny. "Does that bell always ring so loud?" Gohan asked. "Yeah, of course." Benny groaned, sleepily. "Come on! Hurry up!" One of the older boys in the room urged. "We don't want Bob caning us for sleeping in again." "Alright, Joe. We're getting up." Benny answered, grinning at Gohan. "He's such a baby, is our Joe, twelve and still scared of the cane." He whispered to Gohan. "Oh!" Gohan mumbled as he climbed out of bed and pulled on his socks and shoes. "What do we do first today?" "It's morning exercise, for an hour, before breakfast. They like to keep us fit and healthy."  
  
Ten minutes later, Bob and Jim led them outside, in their two lines. The boys didn't have their coats on, just shirts and trousers, and so were shivering in the cold, morning air. "Right, you little lay-abouts. Start with two laps of the field. No slacking!" Bob shouted in military fashion, glaring at the boys menacingly. Gohan started to run with the other boys. This wouldn't be too hard, he thought, he was always a good runner. He ran faster, keeping up with the older boys, completely forgetting the loss of his abilities. When he started his second lap of the large field, he found it slightly harder to breathe, as his energy left him. He started dropping back, and soon became one of the strugglers at the back. Benny dropped back and jogged alongside Gohan. "Your pretty fast, but you really ought to pace yourself on this large field." Benny advised quietly, between heavy breathes. "Thanks for letting me know." Gohan muttered, his breathing even heavier. "I'm a front runner, so see ya later." Benny called, as he went sprinting to the front of the group. Gohan watched in amazement, wondering how Benny could have the energy left to do that. He, personally, felt as if he had been in a round too many with Piccolo. He felt so tired, and this was just the warm up! As he was coming round to complete the lap, he felt a huge pain in the back of his head and fell over in the mud. He sat up groggily and was staring up into the evil eyes of Bob. "That was for being a slacker, you little urchin. Now go and do press-ups with the rest of the group." Bob shouted, pulling Gohan up by the hair. Gohan winced but kept quiet, vowing to get his own back on him one day.  
  
After thirty press-ups, thirty sit-ups, and another two laps round the large field, Gohan wanted to fall into bed and sleep again. Instead he had to wash his hands and go to breakfast with the other boys. Breakfast consisted of porridge, which tasted like cardboard, and a cup of luke warm tea, which had watery milk in it. Gohan gulped his porridge down; burning his mouth, then drank the tea, wishing, with all his might, for one of his mom's bowls of rice.  
  
After breakfast they had to go to the briefing room. Gohan and Benny sat side by side on the bench at the back again. "Is this morning chores?" Gohan asked, depressed. "Afraid so." Benny replied, equally depressed. Bob and Jim entered the room and stood in front of the benches. Bob took authority again. "Right, you little brats. Front bench to the tailor's shop. Back bench to the piggery." He ordered, smugly looking at Gohan, daring him to object. Gohan kept quiet, but inside he was fuming. This guy had a serious problem with him, and so was picking on him. Now he, Benny and the other four on their bench had to spend all morning looking after pigs.  
  
As they made their way to the piggery, Gohan spoke quietly to Benny. "Bob's picking on me, isn't he?" "I dunno. He's pretty awful to all of us, but he is being extra mean to you." Benny replied. Gohan nodded and he and Benny ran to catch up with the other boys.  
  
As they approached the piggery, the stench of manure took over the air. "Yuck! That's disgusting!" Gohan exclaimed, pinching his nose. "Get used to it. We've got two hours in here." Benny said, also pinching his nose. A man, who looked a bit like a pig, came out to greet them. He was probably in his late forties, medium height, with a pot belly. He smiled when he saw Benny. "Ahh! Young Benny. You helping me with my pigs again?" "Hi Pete. Yes I am." Benny replied, grinning. "Good, good. Go and get some shovels from the shed please, Benny." Pete said, before turning to Gohan. "Would you be the new boy I keep hearing about?" "Y.yes, sir." Gohan replied, uncertainly. "That's alright, youngin. Just call me Pete. You can go and help Benny if you want." Pete said, smiling. Gohan stumbled after Benny. He couldn't believe one of the adults here was being nice to them, to him. Benny passed Gohan six shovels. "What are these for?" Gohan asked, taking them from Benny. "We have to scoop up the mess." Benny replied. Gohan stared at him, a bemused look on his face. "We've got to clean up pig poo!" Gohan exclaimed. "Well duh! Oh course." Benny replied, rudely. "Come on! Back to the piggery."  
  
They cleaned out the whole sty and laid out fresh water and feed. Then scrubbed the pigs down with stiff brushes. By the time they were done, Gohan felt exhausted all over again, and he and Benny stumbled off to lunch, after they had got cleaned up in the washroom.  
  
Lunch was a thick bowl of broth (soup) and a glass of water. Gohan was starving and devoured the broth instantly, managing to burn his mouth again. He had to get home. The lack of proper, Saiyan-sized, meals was killing him. Also the loss of his abilities was grinding him down. He wanted to become a Super Saiyan like his dad, but he'd be lucky if he ever saw his dad again, let alone train with him. He finished his glass of water and followed the other boys out of the dining room.  
  
Gohan thought they would be going to the briefing room again, but he followed Benny and the other boys down a different corridor. They came to a halt outside a wooden door, which was shut. Joe, the oldest of the boys, knocked on the door. "Enter!" On hearing the stern voice from within, Joe opened the door. All twelve boys filed into the little schoolroom and sat at the three rows of desks lined out. Gohan sat at a double desk with Benny. He couldn't believe how modern this schoolroom looked. He hadn't even expected this place to give an education, let alone one with good facilities. "Ahh! Our new addition." The male teacher gazed at Gohan. "I take it you've had no education before?" Gohan looked at the middle-aged man, bewilderment spreading across his features. "Um." he didn't know what to say. "Can you read and write?" The man literally shouted, as if he thought Gohan was deaf. "Eh, yes." Gohan replied, wondering if that was the right answer or not. "We'll see." The man said, doubt evident in his voice. " Everyone get your slates and chalk out of the desks." Gohan lifted his desk and found a slate and a piece of chalk in there. Did they really write using this stuff? He thought. "Okay. I want you to write about your day so far on your slate. Don't take too long." Their teacher, Mr Pooley, instructed, using his stern voice. Gohan picked up his chalk. He knew what he wanted to write: My morning sucked big time! But he thought he better write something a bit more friendly. So he put chalk to slate and started writing. It was a lot harder to write with chalk than he had anticipated. It squeaked on the slate and it was difficult to write in his usual small, neat manner. It was big, messy and smudged. Gohan sighed in exasperation. This was so frustrating! Plus Benny was writing immaculately on his slate, although his spelling left a lot to be desired. Mr Pooley walked around the classroom the classroom, checking the boys' work, smacking boys' hands with his wooden ruler, when he wasn't satisfied with their work. He approached Gohan and Benny, an irritated look on his face, having been disappointed with the work he had seen so far. He checked Benny's first. "Good handwriting, but your spelling is appalling, as usual." Mr Pooley said, scanning through Benny's work. "But, sir, I really tried this time." Benny protested, politely. He got the ruler treatment for his troubles, and immediately fell silent, holding his throbbing hand. Mr Pooley moved onto Gohan and picked up his slate. "What do you call this, boy?" He asked in a nasty tone. "It's barely readable." "It's not my fault, it's the chalk. It doesn't write properly." Gohan retorted, indignantly. "You insolent brat!" Mr Pooley shouted, outraged. He grabbed Gohan by the ear and pulled him to the front of the class. "I'll teach you not to answer back." He shouted down Gohan's ear. Gohan cringed as Mr Pooley let go of his ear and started snapping his ruler over Gohan's bare hand until the skin was red raw. He then pushed Gohan back into his seat and carried on the lesson, daring anyone else to get him angry.  
  
After the lesson had finished, some three hours later, Gohan and Benny walked to the washroom to clean up before dinner. "How's your hand?" Benny asked, concern clear in his voice. "It's alright, I guess." Gohan replied, cradling the injured limb in question against his chest. "I've never seen Mr Pooley get so mad before." Benny stated in amazement. "What was going on with your brain back there? Speaking to him like that." "I dunno. He just annoyed me." Gohan replied, shrugging his shoulders. Benny stared at Gohan and then matched his shrug. "Come on. We better go to dinner." They left the washroom feeling refreshed.  
  
Dinner was much the same as last night, apart from the meat being badly cooked fish tonight. This made Gohan even more depressed as he thought of his many fishing trips with his dad.  
  
They all filed into the briefing room after dinner, as they did last night, and Gohan and Benny were sent to the kitchens. The cooks got them peeling potatoes for tomorrow night's dinner. Two hours of peeling later, Gohan thought his injured hand might drop off. He and Benny climbed into their beds, having kicked off their socks and shoes. "I don't want to see another potato again." Gohan complained, rubbing his throbbing hand. "You get used to it." Benny replied, trying to keep his voice cheerful. Gohan just shrugged and curled up into a ball, trying to warm up under the thin bed sheets. "Night Benny." "Night Gohan."  
  
End Chapter.  
  
Sorry no abilities yet but soon, I promise. Something will happen in the next chapter to move it along, but you'll just have to wait and see. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed this chapter (My longest yet, I think.) Plz r&r. 


	8. Some answers, more questions

A/N: Hey guys. Another update. Pretty good considering I have exams at the moment.

Anyway thanks for all your reviews, very appreciated. 

Can't really answer your question, aeollis, cos I just throw exclamation marks

in here and there a lot of the time, sorry.

On with the chapter. 

I don't own DBZ or Gohan (loud sobbing from gohans-girl), but I do own Benny (cheers from gohans-girl)

**Chapter 8: Some answers, more questions.**

** **

Gohan woke up on, what he'd say, was his seventh day in the workhouse, but it was hard to tell as he was losing track of the days. He was finally settling into the strict routine at Greystones. He and Benny had become firm friends. Gohan had also befriended two of the other boys, Joshua, aged ten, and Harry, aged eleven, but spent more time with Benny, as they had become inseparable over the past week.

He pulled himself out of bed, just as the bell stopped ringing. Benny was, somehow, still asleep. Gohan shook his shoulder, gently, until he woke up.

"Wha…what is it?" Benny groaned, opening his eyes.

"Come on, Benny. Bob will be here in a minute." Gohan urged, remembering the rough treatment he'd received from Bob every morning since his arrival, especially in their fitness sessions. 

"Alright. I'm coming." Benny muttered sleepily, rolling out of bed and falling heavily on the floor. "Ouch!"

Gohan helped pull Benny to his feet just as the door burst open and Bob stepped in, his expression reminding Gohan of Vegeta's just about every time he saw him, black as thunder.

"Johnsen! Son! Two extra laps of the field for not being ready. Now get your socks and shoes on, and hurry up." Bob barked at them.

Benny and Gohan looked at each other and silently groaned. They pulled on their socks and shoes, and followed the other boys out to the field.

After the usual routine of two laps, thirty press-ups, thirty sit-ups, and two more laps, the boys, as usual, were exhausted and looking forward to breakfast.

"You two." Bob shouted, pointing at Gohan and Benny. "Two more laps. The rest of you get cleaned up for breakfast."

Harry and Joshua gave Gohan and Benny sympathetic looks, before following the other boys inside.

Gohan and Benny started jogging, slowly, round the huge field for the fifth time that morning, their stomachs growling impatiently for breakfast.

Two very hard going laps later, Gohan and Benny walked, like zombies, to the washroom, already ten minutes late for breakfast. Both were silently cursing Bob.

"This sucks! I hope we get something decent for morning chores." Benny complained to Gohan.

Gohan just looked wearily up from the washbasin and nodded in agreement.

They left the washroom and entered the dining room, receiving many stares from people already eating. As soon as they took their seats they were called up to get their breakfast.

When Gohan and Benny had finished their cardboardy porridge and luke warm tea, they were the only ones left in the dining room.

"Bob's gonna give us an awful chore to do now." Benny predicted, a huge look of disgust on his face. 

Gohan also pulled a face, but more because of his feelings about the porridge he had just eaten.

They walked, slowly, to the briefing room, savouring every last second of spare time, expecting Bob's sour face as soon as they got there, but instead were greeted by a tall, lean figure, Mr Broom.

Gohan immediately felt that they must have done something seriously wrong, and started racking his brains trying to remember what it was.

"Don't look so worried, boy." Mr Broom assured Gohan. "I just need you two to run an errand for me."

Benny immediately stood up straight, barely able to conceal a huge smile, as if he'd just won an Oscar or something. Gohan eyed him with confusion.

"I need you to take this letter to the address on the envelope. Do you know where it is?" Mr Broom asked, looking at Benny.

Benny looked at the address and nodded. "Yes, sir." He squeezed out.

"Okay, straight there and straight back, boys." Mr Broom dismissed them.

Gohan and Benny stumbled off, Benny clutching the envelope.

As they let themselves out of the great workhouse gates, Gohan spilled out his curiosity. 

"Why'd we be trusted to deliver a letter?"

"Who knows and who cares! It's a great honour to be errand boys. It's exciting." Benny enthused, grinning from ear to ear.

Gohan just shrugged, still confused, and followed Benny down the street he hadn't seen for over a week.

They received quite a few stares as they made their way through one of the posh areas of London.

"What's they're problem?" Gohan asked Benny, getting annoyed at being a goldfish to these strangers.

"Don't worry about them. They probably don't see many boys in workhouse uniforms." Benny replied, laughing at Gohan's annoyed expression.

Gohan lightly punched Benny on the shoulder. "Hey stop laughing at me." He said, trying to keep a straight face, but failing miserably, and laughing along with Benny.

"Come on." Benny said, between bursts of laughter. "We better hurry. We're nearly there."

They walked down the street on the address.

"Gohan, look for No.21, okay." Benny said, staring at the address on the envelope.

Gohan nodded and started looking on both sides of the street.

"I found it!" Gohan shouted to Benny, who was a couple of metres away tying up his shoelace.

Benny ran up to meet him, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Um…sorry, Gohan." Benny said, before sprinting up the path to No.21. "What is this place anyway?"

"Looks like a house to me." Gohan replied, sarcastically.

Benny glared at Gohan, but then started laughing again.

"Come on." Gohan said, knocking on the door.

Benny composed himself just as the door opened. An old woman appeared behind the door. She was small, but looked even smaller because she was slightly hunched over, standing about an inch taller than Gohan. She had grey hair, which fell down most of the length of her back and her eyes were emerald green..

"What can I do for you, boys?" She asked, in a voice that didn't really fit her body.

"We were told to deliver this." Benny replied, proudly thrusting the envelope forward.

"Ah! You must be from Greystones. You've had a long walk. Would you like to come in and have a drink?" The old lady offered, kindly.

Gohan and Benny exchanged ecstatic looks, before hastily accepting the offer, both dying to sit down and have a drink. They followed the old lady into the house.

They were greeted by with cream coloured walls and pale blue carpet, which felt soft under their worn shoes.

"Come straight through, boys." The old lady said, sauntering through the long hall.

Gohan and Benny followed her into a large kitchen, and watched as she poured out two glasses of milk, pure, undiluted, fresh milk. Gohan was starting to see the perks of being an errand boy.

"Here your are, boys." The lady said, offering the glasses to them.

"Thank you, mam." They said in unison, taking the milk.

"Oh, that's okay, my dears, call me Emerald. That's what everyone else calls me. My eyes I suppose." She said, her eyes sending a strange sensation through Gohan. "Follow me. We can go and sit down. I bet your feet are killing you."

"Oh, thank you, Emerald. They are a bit sore." Benny replied enthusiastically, beaming like a Cheshire cat.

Gohan just followed silently, wondering what it was about Emerald that reminded him of home.

They sat down on comfy chairs in the large front room. A fire was blazing in the fireplace, warming up the entire room. All was quiet until a knock on the front door echoed into the room.

"Would you get that for me, please." Emerald asked Benny. "My poor back won't let me get up again, yet."

"Sure." Benny replied, jumping up and going to the door.

As Benny stood talking to the milkman, Emerald beckoned Gohan to her.

"Come over here, Gohan."

Gohan stared at her, bewildered. "How do you know my name?" He asked.

"I know a lot about you, Son Gohan." Emerald replied

Gohan stared in disbelief, a thousand questions spinning through his mind.

"He's after you, Gohan." Emerald warned, her eyes piercing his.

"Who is?" Gohan asked, even more confused.

"I dare not utter his name. He has ears everywhere. All I can tell you is to be careful because he is very powerful." Emerald answered, her eyes now wide with fear.

"What am I meant to do? I've lost my abilities." Gohan asked, not liking this one bit.

"That bit I can help you with, but you have to use this wisely." She said, standing up, no signs of back problems anymore. "Just hold still, and clear your mind."

She placed her hand on top of Gohan's mop of black hair and shut her eyes.

After a few seconds, Gohan felt a strange, warm sensation, passing through his body. It was like how you would imagine a battery felt while it was being recharged. Then he felt weightless, as if he was outside gravity altogether. Then the featherweight feeling he got when he first learnt to fly.

He was so preoccupied with the changing sensations; he didn't notice Benny walk back through the door.

Benny walked back down the hall, carelessly whistling, having just had an animated conversation with the milkman about the cold weather. He walked through the doorway into the front room and gasped in shock. There stood Emerald, hand on Gohan's head. Both of them had a visible golden glow surrounding them.

Benny had a hundred things to say, but couldn't find his voice. So he just stood there open-mouthed, staring at the unbelievable sight in front of him.

Gohan started hearing his dad's voice in his head, then Piccolo's, and finally Emerald's. She was telling him to relax and let the power flow into him, not fight it. He did so, and immediately got the sensations flowing through him again.

Five minutes or so later, Emerald released her hand from Gohan's head and collapsed back into her chair, breathing heavily.

Gohan just stood there, frozen, like a statue, in the same position, a bright aura surrounding him. His regained power pulsated through every vein.

Benny also stood stock still, amazed and disbelieving at the event he had just witnessed.

Emerald finally broke the silence. "How do you feel, Gohan?"

"Like, like my old self, but even more powerful." Gohan replied, marvelling at his high power level. "How did you do it?" He asked.

"That, I can't tell you right now. Just be careful when he comes and you have to use what I have given you." Emerald warned, before looking at Benny, slightly worried. "You better take him out into the fresh air and fill him in on what he needs to know."

Gohan gave her a, what should I tell him? Look, and she returned it with a smile and a nod.

"Thanks for all your help, Emerald. I won't let you down." Gohan said, confidently.

He grabbed Benny by the hand and pulled him out, wondering how to explain everything to him without freaking him out even more.

End Chapter.

How was that then? You should be happy now; I gave Gohan his abilities back. 

Anyway, I need some ideas for the bad guy's name, some thing to do with time travel. Let me know if you come up with a good name. Thanks.

Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please r&r.


	9. Explanations for Benny

A/N: Hey thanks for all your reviews, very appreciated. This chapter's not very long,

         but hey I got it up in less than a week, plus the next one will be longer. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I still don't own DBZ or Gohan.

                              **Chapter 9: Explanations for Benny**

         Gohan pulled Benny down a deserted alleyway and lightly slapped him across the face to bring him back to reality.

       "Huh?" Benny muttered, shaking his head.

       "Benny, it's me. It's Gohan." Gohan said, in a soft, reassuring voice.

Benny rubbed his eyes and stared at Gohan. "Your not glowing anymore!" He said in utter confusion. "Why were you glowing?"

       "It's…a long story." Gohan answered, and proceeded to tell him about Saiyans in the best way he could think of.

         Several minutes later, Benny had finally gotten his head round the fact that Gohan was half alien, as he put it.

       "So your dad's an alien and your mum's a human." Benny said, an enlightened expression filling his eyes.

       "Yeah, I guess." Gohan agreed, rubbing the back of his head in Goku fashion.

       "So why were you glowing?" Benny asked again.

       "I'd lost my abilities. You know the flying and ki blasts I told you about. Well anyway, Emerald was restoring them for me." Gohan replied, simply, so that Benny understood him properly this time.

       "So you can fly again. Will you show me?" Benny asked, his eyes wide in anticipation.

Gohan grinned, pleased that he could use his abilities again, and pleased that he could share them with a friend his own age, who wasn't a Z fighter. He focused his energy to his feet and pushed away from the ground, floating a few feet up from the floor. He was glad he wasn't rusty after all this time.

Benny gaped in amazement as Gohan's feet left the ground, and he hung, suspended in the air, as if he was sitting on an invisible box or something. How was it possible to fly? He thought in intrigue. 

Gohan then proceeded to show off a bit and flew round Benny several times, before finally landing, as he felt slightly dizzy through lack of practice, recently. A broad grin covered his face. The excitement of having his abilities back making him forget about the danger he was in.

       "That was so cool." Benny enthused, when he finally stopped doing his goldfish impression. "What else did you say you could do?"

       "Fire ki blasts." Gohan replied, with a look that said duh! All over it.

 Benny looked at him in confusion.

Gohan sighed. "Balls of light energy." He explained. "Watch."

Benny watched in awe as Gohan formed a mass of yellow light in his hand. He gasped in shock as Gohan threw the light at a rubbish bin, standing a few feet away, which immediately blew up, not a trace of it left.

       "Woah!" Benny said, his eyes fixed to the spot where the bin had stood.

Gohan laughed at Benny's reaction before getting a serious look again.

       "There's more to tell." He said, getting Benny's full attention again. "I'm not from this time. I was transported here from the future. From Japan."

Benny stared at Gohan, even more surprised.

       "Seriously?" Benny asked, not completely convinced.

       "Of course." Gohan replied. "I don't know how it happened, but one minute I was fishing with my dad, the next minute I'm tumbling through time and then land on the floor in London, in the past."

Benny looked as if the information was going to be too much for him, but he quickly regained his composure and said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

       "Yeah!" Gohan replied. "Emerald told me that there's this guy who's after me. He's evil and very powerful, she said, and that I've gotta be careful when he comes."

       "I'll help you." Benny offered, bravely.

Gohan smiled. "Thanks, Benny, but there's not a lot you can do."

Benny put on a hurt face, but then shook his head and smiled, before looking at the sun in horror.

      "Gohan! The sun! It's passed lunchtime. We're gonna be in serious trouble." Benny cried, a scared look on his face.

Gohan smirked. "Don't worry, Benny. I got my abilities back now. Time to enact some revenge on a couple of people." Gohan said, laughing.

Benny grinned from ear to ear. "Oh yeah!"

         They made their way back through London. Their spirits high as they planned what they were gonna do to Bob and Mr Pooley. The worry about the imminent danger wedged into the back of Gohan's mind. 

         Half an hour's walk later, Benny pushed open the iron workhouse gates, and they made their way down the long pathway to the 'inmates' entrance, and were greeted by Bob's sneering face. 

      "You two are in big trouble." Bob stated, nastily. "You've got to go to see Mr Broom right now."

Gohan and Benny put on fearful expressions as they followed Bob towards Mr Broom's study.

Bob knocked on the door, smirking evilly at the boys.

       "Come in." Mr Broom said, impatiently.

Bob opened the door and pushed both boys in, before turning and leaving, still smirking.

         Mr Broom eyed the two boys standing in front of his desk, with distaste.

      "I thought I told you two to deliver the letter and come straight back. You've been gone over two hours! What have you been doing?" Mr Broom said, his voice raised dangerously.

Benny looked down at his feet not sure what to say.

Gohan, on the other hand, looked at Mr Broom, putting on his most innocent face. 

       "The old lady there offered us a drink. We couldn't possibly turn it down in fear of hurting her feelings." Gohan explained, his confidence brimming over because of his restored abilities.

Mr Broom stared at Gohan, speechless. Not believing that a nine-year-old orphan could come up with something so smart and with such confidence as well.

Quickly regaining his dignity, Mr Broom replied to Gohan's comment, in a stern voice. "You were under strict orders to return straight away, no matter what the circumstances. As a result you have both missed lunch. Which is a punishment in itself, but to add to that, you will both clean the entire dining room floor after your evening chores."

Benny gaped. "But, sir, we'll hardly get any sleep!" He exclaimed in dismay.

       "You should have thought of that before." Mr Broom snapped, satisfied with the punishment.

Gohan just stood there, smirking, knowing he could clean the floor in no time at with his super speed now restored.

Mr Broom ignored Gohan's smirk, bored of dealing with the two boys, and told them to go to their afternoon lessons with Mr Pooley.

Gohan and Benny left Mr Broom's study, grinning at each other, remembering what they had in store for Mr Pooley to avenge him for the bad treatment he'd dealt out to them.

End chapter.

So what did ya think? I know it was shorter than most of my other chapters, but like I said before, chapter 10 will be longer. So r&r and I'll put up the next chapter soon. Oh yeah, and if anyone has any special requests for types of revenge on Mr Pooley or Bob let me know. 

Love ya all.


	10. Revenge

A/N: Well first of all, thanks for all your reviews. Very appreciated.

         Secondly, to Ooshii Kurai, I sent you an email thanking you for the names, but I 

         have chosen a different one, but thanks anyway.

         Thirdly, here's the chapter you have all been waiting for *revenge for our fav.  

         hybrid*

         Oh yeah, warning: twist at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I still don't own my fav. anime or anime character.

                                          **Chapter 10: Revenge**

            Gohan and Benny arrived at the schoolroom just as the other boys were settling down with their chalk and slate. Mr Pooley eyed the two boys in disgust.

      "I know why you two are late." Mr Pooley spat. " Sit in your seats and do the sums on the board, now."

Gohan and Benny quickly sat at their desks, stealing wry smiles at Joshua and Harry, who were looking at their two friends, questioning looks on their faces.

They both got their chalk and slate out and copied down the sums. Gohan was quite happy with his chalk now, having gotten better with it over the week.

            An hour of arithmetic later, Mr Pooley let the boys have a five-minute toilet break. Gohan and Benny whispered quietly to each other, as they walked to the washroom. 

      "When are you gonna do it?" Benny asked, barely able to keep his voice low in his excitement.

      "Soon." Gohan replied. "When he starts teaching again."

Benny chuckled. "He is gonna freak."

            At the end of the five minutes, they all filed back into the schoolroom. Ten of the boys wore long faces, the other two, Gohan and Benny, were exchanging smirks.

      "Settle down!" Mr Pooley said, sternly. "We're going to be learning about Christianity now."

He turned to the blackboard, and started writing about John the Baptist.

Gohan sat back in his chair, suddenly realising how much he was gonna have to concentrate to get this right.

      "What's wrong?" Benny whispered, nudging Gohan.

Gohan just gave him a reassuring smile, not wanting to draw Mr Pooley's attention.

      "So John the Baptist felt that Jesus should baptize him, not the other way round." Mr Pooley preached, as he wrote the bible story on the board.

      "Now!" Gohan whispered under his breath.

He raised his ki and concentrated it, with all his might, on the blackboard, which was resting on the easel. When he was sure all of his ki was focused on the right spot, he let it go.

The blackboard fell forwards, connecting with Mr Pooley's head. 

       "Who did that?" Mr Pooley shouted his inevitable question, falling off his tongue in absolute fury.

The chalk dust had turned his hair white, and the remains of it floated in front of his mouth.

Gohan looked down at his desk, muffling his laughter. It had worked better than he thought. Benny mirrored Gohan's actions, and most of the other boys followed suit. Some of them, Joe included, looked fearfully at the outraged teacher.

       "I said who did this?" Mr Pooley shouted, his face turning purple.

Gohan suddenly realised if he didn't do something quick, Mr Pooley would punish the whole class, and it wouldn't be pretty.

       "Sir. How could anyone have done it? We're all still sat at our desks." Gohan said in his most innocent voice.

       "You dare to disagree with my judgement, boy?" Mr Pooley shouted, directing all his anger at Gohan.

      "Well yes, actually. I do." Gohan replied, enjoying Mr Pooley's shocked facial expressions at his confident answer.

      "You insolent brat." He shouted, not for the first time.

Gohan just smirked at the enraged man, completely enjoying the moment.

Mr Pooley strode over to Gohan and Benny's desk and reached out to grab the demi-saiyan by the hair, but Gohan swiftly moved to one side, making Mr Pooley stumble clumsily forward, his fingers connecting awkwardly with the top of the desk.

      "Oww!" Mr Pooley yelled, more in frustration than in pain. "Come here, you little brat!"

Gohan stood up and beamed at the boiling teacher, making him even madder.

Mr Pooley lunged for Gohan. Again the demi-saiyan moved swiftly to one side, sending Mr Pooley headlong over a desk.

All of the boys were laughing now, pointing at the fallen teacher, who was trying to climb back onto his feet.

Gohan walked round the fallen desk, and stood over Mr Pooley, staring him directly in the eye.

      "I bet you'll think twice about picking on us now." Gohan said, coldly glaring now. "You're a disgrace to the human race."

All the boys stared at Gohan in surprise. Not believing they're small friend could have such an icy voice.

Mr Pooley, meanwhile, was staring, fearfully, up at Gohan, wondering how on Earth a nine year old could be so intimidating.

       "What are you going to do?" Mr Pooley whimpered.

       "That depends." Gohan replied. "Will you stop your bad treatment of us?"

       "I will! Just don't hurt me!" Mr Pooley cried, frantically.

Gohan stared at the man on the floor, wondering how a man that could beat small boys heartlessly, could be such a wimp.

       "Fine." Gohan agreed, satisfied, and sat back down at his desk. "Now are you gonna finish teaching us about John the Baptist, or what?"

       "Er, y…yes." Mr Pooley replied, and got up, shaking, and walked back over to his desk, resetting the blackboard on the easel.  

The other boys finally snapped out of they're trance like state and sat back down at they're own desks.

            An hour and a half later, Mr Pooley breathed a sigh of relief, as Gohan, Benny and the others left the schoolroom. He would have to tell Mr Broom about that strange, unearthly kid.

            Gohan and Benny walked a little behind the other boys on their way to the washroom.

      "That was so cool!" Benny said to Gohan, his eyes shining with excitement.

      "I just can't believe Mr Pooley backed down so easily." Gohan said, half to Benny, and half to himself.

      "Don't worry about it, Gohan." Benny said laughing. "Besides, it was so funny."

Gohan shrugged and joined in Benny's laughter, as they caught up with the other boys, at the washroom. Where Joe stepped up, blocking Gohan's way.

      "So come on. How did you do it?" He asked, curiosity spread across his face.

      "I'm an alien from outta space." Gohan replied, laughing, before pushing past the older boy, with ease, to the washbasin.

      "What? Get serious." Joe said in exasperation.

      "Loosen up, Joe." Benny said, laughing, as he joined Gohan at the washbasin.

Joe was about to answer back, when Bob walked into the room, face like thunder, as usual.

      "Are you boys coming to dinner or not?" He snarled, impatiently.

      "Coming." Gohan replied, in a bad imitation of one of the dinner ladies.

Bob glared at him, a menacing glint in his eyes. Gohan shrank back next to Benny. What the hell was that? He thought. That glint gave him the creeps.

            On their way to the briefing after dinner, Benny nudged Gohan.

       "What was all that about earlier, you know in the washroom?" He asked, quietly. 

       "I dunno really." Gohan replied. "It's just something about Bob. I don't like it."

       "Your paranoid." Benny said, dismissively. "It's what Emerald said about the bad guy. It's got you worried. Right?"

       "Yeah. I guess." Gohan agreed, trying to shove his thoughts to the back of his mind.

            Jim was the one that gave them their evening chores tonight. Bob wasn't there. This freaked Gohan even more, but he got on with the boot cleaning, he and Benny had been given to do.

            Two hours or so later, the other boys made their way to the bedroom. Gohan and Benny went to the dining room, to do their punishment chore of cleaning the floor. They were greeted by Bob, sneering as usual.

       "Ha! I'm going to keep you two up all night, cleaning this floor." He said, a nasty smile spread across his face.

Gohan could sense Benny boiling and gave him a reassuring nudge. We'll get him soon, he thought.

Bob handed the boys a bucket of water and two cloths, smirking evilly.

       "Now get to work." He ordered.

             After about half an hour, and only about one third of the floor cleaned, Gohan and Benny were getting fed up. So Gohan decided to teach Bob a lesson like he had done for Mr Pooley. 

He jumped to his feet and stared at Bob, who had been keenly watching their slow progress.

       "You can't treat us like this!" Gohan said, in a strong, cold voice, same as he had used for Mr Pooley.

      "Oh, can't I?" Bob said, his smirk even more evil than before.

Gohan's rage got the better of his logic and he ran towards Bob, yelling, "I hate you!"

He went to kick the man in the face, but Bob thrust out his arm and Gohan went sprawling through the air and cracked his head on the wall, knocking the sense out of him for a minute.

When he regained his awareness, Gohan looked up and saw an unfavourable scene in front of him.

Bob held Benny, his arm wrapped around the boy's throat, sneering challengingly at Gohan.

       "Let him go!" Gohan shouted. I knew it, he thought, Bob's the bad guy.

       "Why should I?" Bob asked. "My master will be very happy with me."

       "Your master? What does he want with Benny?" Gohan asked, realising there was a stronger foe out there, somewhere, waiting for him.

       "My master wants you, not this little runt, but he'll be perfect bait. If you want him to live, you're going to have to find us, quickly." Bob said, laughing evilly.

He tightened his grip on the already unconscious Benny, and flew through the window, smashing the glass as he went.

       "Wait!" Gohan shouted, trying to stand up, but fell down again, clutching his throbbing head. 

What am I gonna do? He thought. 

End chapter.

How do you like that then? A cliffy. Aren't I mean to you all? Well as long as you r&r I'll update quickly.

Oh and one little note. I don't know if Gohan would actually be able to knock over a blackboard with his ki, but hey, I wasn't sure how else to do it, so don't get at me too much for it.

Lol.


	11. A talk with Emerald

A/N: Hey everyone. Got this chapter up quick cos I've been off college due to illness

         and snow. Also the ideas have been flooding my head recently.

         Anyway thanks for your reviews and read and enjoy, I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters.

                                **Chapter 11: A talk with Emerald**

The November sun fell through a smashed window, highlighting a small boy, slumped up against the wall, sleeping uncomfortably. A bump clearly visible on the back of his head, the source of his unavoidable slumber.

            The boy opened one eye as the light aroused his senses, then the other, and then he sat bolt upright as he realised where he was and what time it was.

      "Benny!" Gohan cried, remembering the events that had unfolded a few hours ago. "I've got to find him!" He said in determination.

He flew out of the window, smashed by Bob, and made his way to the only place where he thought he could receive some help.

            A short flight later, Gohan landed outside Emerald's house. He ran up to the door and knocked.

      "Emerald!" Gohan shouted, desperately.

The door flew open. Emerald stood in the doorway, wearing a dressing gown.

      "Gohan? What's wrong?" Emerald asked, her voice muffled by drowsiness. 

      "They've got Benny!" Gohan cried, staring directly at the old woman, his eyes wide, terrified for his friend's safety.

Emerald didn't seem too surprised. "I thought this would be his move. You better come in." She said, motioning for Gohan to follow her inside.

They went through into the sitting room. Emerald sat down in her chair by the fireplace, but Gohan stayed standing, fidgeting, impatient to find out what he needed to know. 

      "Tell me exactly what happened." Emerald said, leaning back in her chair.

Gohan stopped fidgeting and looked at the source of his regained powers, a determined glint in his eyes, and proceeded to relate the events of last night.

       "…And so I must have lost consciousness after they had gone, because the next thing I knew it was morning." Gohan finished.

Emerald gazed at the young hybrid child standing in front of her. Poor boy, she thought. So much rests on his young shoulders.

      "Now that he's made his first move, I can tell you more about him." Emerald said, her namesake eyes sparkling in the light of the fire, burning merrily in the fireplace.

Gohan watched the old woman expectantly.

       "His name is Paradox. He lives to terrorize all those living, especially those with lots of potential, like yourself." Emerald said, looking pointedly at Gohan. "He has the ability to open wormholes of time, taking himself and others to completely different timelines. He first struck fifty years ago, ruining the lives of many great scientists, among others. I and my six sisters were the only ones with the power to defeat him. Our magic, if used right, would seal Paradox in a dimension, known as the time limbo." Emerald paused for breath, wheezing in her old age.

Gohan stared impatiently at Emerald, not really noticing her short breathing. 

       "After a great struggle, we captured Paradox and combined our magic, sending Paradox to limbo. There he stayed, sealed, for a long time. Trouble is, while he was in limbo, he developed his abilities. His time wormholes got stronger, and his ability to manipulate his ki got stronger. Eventually his power became too great for our sealing spell, and he broke free, landing in your time. This was about five years ago. He witnessed your battles with Raditz, Vegeta and Garlic Junior." Emerald paused again, hit by a coughing fit.

Gohan looked at Emerald, concerned for the aging woman.

       "Are you alright?" He asked.

       "I'm fine." She replied, after she had stopped coughing. "Anyway, Paradox saw you had the potential to do great things and immediately took a disliking to you. He had set you as his next target, and he spent the next two years planning his attack."

       "I don't understand. Why would he go after me? Why not my dad or someone else who's stronger than me? Gohan asked, confused.

       "Like I said, Paradox likes to ruin the lives of those with great potential. He saw it in you, and besides, by getting at you he's ruining your dad's life, your mother's life, and not to mention the lives of those you might save in the future."

       "Oh!" Gohan said, not sure what to say or do next.

       "Is there anything else you want to know?" Emerald asked, her voice tired.

       "Yeah! What am I supposed to do against him if he's so strong?" Gohan asked, angry that he was left to deal with this time travelling freak on his own.

       "You have all the power inside of you to beat him." Emerald replied, simply. "You also have the extra thing I gave you." She added, smiling.

Gohan's eyes widened. "What extra thing?" He asked, curious.

       "You'll find out, when you need it." Emerald replied, mysteriously.

Gohan nodded, but started thinking about what special new ability he might now have.

       "How do I find them?" Gohan asked, suddenly regaining his determined tone of voice.

      "Can you remember Bob's ki signature?" Emerald asked.

Gohan scrunched up his brow, thinks back to the previous night.

      "I got it!" Gohan shouted, after a few seconds. "He's not far from here."

Emerald smiled. He truly is a remarkable child, she thought.

      "Go on then. Save your friend, and then maybe, just maybe, you can rid us of Paradox forever." Emerald said, pushing her long, grey hair behind her shoulders.

Gohan gave her a wry smile, suddenly realising how much rested on him, and him alone.

       "Bye, Emerald. I'll do my very best." He promised, and then ran out of the warm sitting room, through the hall, and out of the front door.

            When he had been flying for about twenty minutes, Gohan slowed down, and dropped closer to the ground. He concentrated hard, trying to work out exactly where Bob was.

       "Darn! Where is he?" Gohan muttered, frustration clouding his mind.

He slowed down some more, and just hovered in the air, lapsing into a light meditation. His mind cleared and all the different ki signatures flooded in.

After a couple of minutes, Gohan located Bob's unique signature and Benny's fading one. He snapped out of his meditation and flew towards a derelict warehouse.

            A short flight later, Gohan landed down, a few metres from the warehouse.

The warehouse would have once been a very large place, but now half of it had fallen to ruins through age, probably only about two rooms still usable.

Gohan walked, cautiously, up to the side of the crumbling building, keeping an eye on the ki signatures around him.

As he approached the front entrance, he heard a voice. Bob's voice. He was talking, in a taunting tone. Gohan clenched his fists in anger. He had to get Benny out of there, but how? Direct approach or element of surprise? 

His mind was made up when he heard Benny cry out in pain and Bob's sinister laugh.

He jumped into the space where the door would have been, if it hadn't crumbled to nothing with age.

       "Let Benny go!" Gohan shouted, at the top of his lungs, before looking into the room.

Bob was standing there, staring up at Benny, who had his wrists and ankles bound to the wall with energy binds. Benny held his head limply, his face very pale and his eyes bloodshot and sunken, due to his painful and stressful ordeal.

       "Well, what do we have here!" Bob said, laughing evilly, staring at the young demi-saiyan. 

End chapter.

How was that? Good enough explanations, or have I left out too much? Let me know. R&R. Please.

Thanks a lot to Cory for the name Paradox. Greatly appreciated, as I didn't have a clue for his name.  


	12. The preliminary battle

A/N: First of all, I'm really sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I've had big problems   
with my computer. I had to reset windows and so had to reinstall everything. It took  
ages, and as yet i haven't got Word back up, so am therefore lacking spellcheck, so   
sorry if there's any bad spelling or grammer mistakes.  
Secondly, this is my first real go at writing a battle scene, so if there's anything you  
think i can improve on let me know.  
Thirdly, um...just enjoy the chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters.   
  
Chapter 12: The preliminary battle  
  
Gohan stared in horror at his friend's pain-stricken face.  
"You monster!" Gohan shouted at Bob, his rage surfacing.  
Bob just laughed, waving his hand in front of Benny. Benny cried out in pain as the energy binds tightened.  
Gohan yelled in anger, his energy increasing, a white aura surrounding him.  
Bob finally stopped laughing as he realised how much Gohan's power level had shot up. He glared at the enraged child.  
"So, you do have some strength. I bet that nosy, old witch of a woman gave you your power back. It was absolutely ingenius of my master to suck away your power." Bob said, smirking. "I had so much fun torturing you at that workhouse."  
"You! You! Monster!" Gohan shouted again, before running at the well built man.  
He aimed a kick at the man's stomach. Bob moved swiftly to one side.  
"Nice try, kid, but you're gonna have to move faster than that." Bob said, a smug look on his face.  
Gohan, spurred on by Benny's fading ki, charged at Bob again, but this time he moved quickly. He went in as if he was going to kick him in the stomach again, but quick as a flash he appeared behind Bob and kicked him in the back of the head.  
Bob staggered forward, clutching his head.  
"You little brat!" Bob shouted, increasing his power level until it levelled with Gohan's.  
Gohan masked his shock at Bob's power increase, but inside was wondering what he was gonna do. He figured he could defeat Bob alright, but this Paradox fella had to be a lot stronger. How was he ever gonna defeat him?  
Bob charged at Gohan, shouting curses at the young half-breed. Gohan fell into his fighting stance, his mouth set in a grim, determined line.  
Bob aimed his fist at a spot between Gohan's eyes. Gohan moved to one side just in time and kicked the man in the stomach.  
Bob doubled up, clutching his stomach. Gohan quickly pivoted and brought his hands, clasped together, down onto Bob's bent over back. Bob fell to the floor like a ton of bricks.  
"I guess the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' is true after all." Gohan said, smirking.  
Bob got back to his feet, snarling like an enraged bull.  
"You'll pay for that, boy!" Bob shouted, charging up a ki blast in his hand.  
Gohan looked up just as Bob released the blast. Feeling quite cocky, he stretched his hands out infront of him, ready to block the blast.  
"I wouldn't block it if I were you, boy." Bob advised, smiling evilly.  
Gohan just smiled back, his rage increasing his confidence in himself.  
The blast crashed, full force, into Gohan's out-stretched hands, pushing the demi-saiyan towards the wall.  
Woah! This is more powerful than I thought it would be, Gohan thought, upping his ki.  
With his power increase, Gohan was able to push the blast away, forcing Bob to move swiftly to dodge his own blast.  
Gohan stood his ground, his breathing slightly heavy.  
"Is that the best you got?" Gohan asked, his confidence boosted because he'd blocked the blast with relative ease.  
Bob looked up, his face flushed with anger.  
"You won't beat me, boy. Your breathing is heavy. You can't take much more of this." Bob said, trying to sound convincing, his breathing even heavier than Gohan's.  
Gohan laughed. "Get serious. It's quite obvious who has the advantage here." The confident, young demi-saiyan retorted, breathing normally again.  
"Oh yeah!" The bull-headed Bob snarled.  
He charged towards Gohan, his large, bulky fists raised, snarling even louder about how strong he thought he was. Gohan simply fell into his fighting stance and waited for the large man to strike.  
Bob reached Gohan, punching madly and with little accuracy, so that the demi-saiyan could easily dodge each blow.  
"You'll have to do better than that." Gohan mocked, before raising his foot and kicking Bob into the wall.  
The wall crumbled on impact, and Bob lay half inside, and half outside, getting wet as the rain had decided to pour again.  
Gohan walked towards the fallen man, his face grim, his eyes determined, as ever.  
"I'm gonna have to finish you now." Gohan said, forming a ki blast in his hand. "Benny needs my help, but before I destroy you, tell me, how did you become to be Paradox's puppet?" He asked, pointing the ki blast at Bob, directly between the eyes.  
"I'm not his puppet!" Bob growled. "He doesn't control me!"  
"Whatever." Gohan replied, in a bored tone. "Tell me how you joined up with him. I'm interested." Gohan carried on.  
"You sure you want to know?" Bob asked, a sudden sinister smile spread across his face.  
Gohan gave a single nod, though a little doubt now crept into his eyes. What is he smiling about? He thought.  
"I watched as that witch of a woman, along with her sisters, locked my master away. Although he wasn't my master then. I was but a boy of about seven or eight years. The portal into limbo was about to close, when I got a bit to close to it and I was sucked in too. My Goddamn witch of a mother didn't do a thing to save her only son." Bob paused, waiting eagerly for Gohan's reaction to his words.  
"Wait! Did you just say Emerald's your mother?" Gohan asked, completely taken aback.  
"That's right, boy. Didn't she tell you?" Bob said, sneering  
Oh Kami! What should I do? I can't kill Emerald's son! Gohan thought, losing his concentration.  
Bob, seizing his opportunity, jumped up and kicked Gohan in the stomach, causing the young hybrid to sprawl across the floor, winded.  
Bob advanced on the fallen boy, laughing evilly.  
"Ha Ha! That surprised you, didn't it? You didn't think old Emerald would have an evil son did you." Bob said, basking in his small victory over the demi-saiyan.  
Gohan looked up at the worn ceiling. What was he gonna do?  
As Bob got closer, Gohan jumped to his feet. He had to keep him talking. It would give him more time to figure out what to do.  
"What happened once you were inside limbo?" Gohan asked, ready to defend himself if Bob didn't take up on the conversation.  
Bob carried on walking until he was but a metre in front of Gohan. He then adopted a very arrogant tone of voice.  
"Well, my master saw the potential of my powers immediately and, instead of destroying me like others with potential, he decided to train me. Teach me to focus my power. Now, magically, I'm as powerful as my mother, and when I've carried out my master's wish to kill you, i shall have revenge on her.  
Gohan looked up at the large man, confused. Hw could he hate his mother so much? Hadn't he stopped and thought that maybe she was unable to do anything to save him?  
"How do you know she didn't try everyting within her power to get you out of the time limbo?" Gohan asked, looking at the enbittered man, sincerely.  
Bob looked down at the small child he was supposed to be disposing of. Was it possible that the boy was talking some sense? He shook his head and scowled.  
"Yeah right. The old bag did absolutely nothing. She just forgot about me." Bob replied, bitterly.  
Gohan stood stock still, at a loss for words.  
"Anyway, I've got a job to do. Say your prayers, boy." Bob threatened, regaining his composure.  
Okay, Gohan thought, and fell into his fighting stance once again.  
Bob started laughing.  
"I'm not fighting like that anymore." He declared, his eyes dancing madly.  
Gohan was about to ask him what he meant when Bob started chanting a strange incantation.  
Oh Kami! Gohan thought. Magic! What am I gonna do?  
Flames suddenly erupted all around Gohan, licking menacingly at his clothes.  
Gohan, completely unfazed by the fire, flew up and out of his firery prison.  
"You'll have to better than that." Gohan said, regaining his confidence once more.  
Bob scowled and pointed his index finger at the flames, chanting a spell at the same time. The flames spread, but not towards Gohan. They moved in the opposite direction, with tremendous speed, ready to engulf the small boy secured to the wall with energy binds.  
"Benny!" Gohan cried, flying after the flames.  
Benny stared at the approaching fire, his eyes wide with acceptance rather than horror. So this was how it ended for him. He was gonna be burnt to a crisp. He shut his eyes and thought of his dead mother.  
Gohan suddenly, unwittingly, shouted out a spell of his own. The flames were swallowed up by a wave of clear water, just as they were licking at Benny's worn out shoes.  
Benny opened up his eyes and gasped in shock. Where had the fire gone?  
Bob growled at Gohan in irritation.  
Gohan just gaped. Where had that come from? Then he remebered. Emerald had said she'd given him something along with his abilities and that he'd find it useful in his upcoming battles. She must have given him some of her magical ability.  
Gohan looked up at Benny. He looked like he was in a real bad shape and his ki was extremely low. He'd have to finish Bob now so that he could help Benny.  
With a determined look and his mind made up, Gohan charged towards Bob and aimed a punch at his face. Bob didn't react quickly enough and the demi-saiyan's fist made a full connection with the spot between the big man's eyes, and he fell back, crashing heavily into the wall.  
Gohan stopped a couple of metres away from Bob and cupped his hands together.  
"Ka Me Ha Me!" Gohan yelled, raising his ki even higher.  
"Haaaaaa!" With a triumphant yell, Gohan released the blast.  
It crashed full force into the fallen man, leaving no trace of him or the wall supporting him.  
Gohan sighed. He did it. Bob was dead.  
The energy binds holding Benny disappeared and Gohan caught his falling friend just before he hit the ground.  
"You did it, Gohan" Benny said, weakly, before losing consiousness.  
"Hang on, Benny." Gohan said, in barely a whisper.  
He was about to fly out of the crumbling warehouse, when a mocking voice stopped him.  
"I am impressed, but are you leaving so soon? After all the fun is only just beginning."  
  
End chapter.   
  
Okay, sorry about the cliffy, but you know how much I like writing them. Please let me know what you think. Lol. R&R and i'll update soon (As long as my computer doesn't play up again). ^_^ 


	13. The real battle begins

A/N: Firstly, real sorry for the long wait for this update, the ideas haven't exactly been

         coming thick and fast for this chapter.

        Secondly, I boosted the rating up to PG-13 because I thought the fight scenes

         might get a bit graphic because I like to make things realistic.

        Thirdly, Gohan may seem OOC in some parts of this chapter. I just wanted to

         bring out his Saiyan side a little bit.

        Finally, thanks a lot for your wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this

         chapter.

Disclaimer: DB/Z/GT don't belong to me, never have done, never will do.

                                          **Chapter 13: The real battle begins**

            Gohan froze. The cold voice brought the hairs on the back of his neck up in in goose pimples. He turned round, slowly, and cautiously. A large figure cast a shadow across the floor. He came out from behind a bulky object, which was covered with a dustsheet.

      "So, how have you enjoyed your time in London, Gohan Son?" Paradox asked, smirking evilly.

Gohan stared at the being who had brought him here, carefully taking in every detail.

He was slightly taller than Piccolo and about the same build as the Namekian. His skin was a kind of turquoise colour, with strange yellow flecks dotted all over, as if yellow paint had been flicked at him with a paintbrush. His eyes were a piercing red, kind of like Frieza's, and stood out as a stark contrast to the mellow colours of his skin. His ears, nose, and mouth were shaped the same as a human's. He was completely bald and the skin on top of his head seemed to have a ripple in the centre and looked very rough and thick. He wore a dark green gi with black lining, and nothing on his feet, which had pointed toes and very hard, well-worn skin.

Paradox gave a low, cold laugh as he watched the small boy take in his appearance.

      "Are you going to stare at me all day or fight?" He asked, looking down at the demi-saiyan, his red eyes glinting menacingly.

Gohan stared back at Paradox, his eyes unblinking.

      "I'll fight you, but leave Benny out of this." Gohan said, with as much confidence as he could muster. It would take everything he got and more to win.

Paradox just gave a sinister laugh as a reply and launched himself into the air, ready to attack.

Gohan, still holding onto Benny, panicked, and only just managed to dodge the right-footed kick Paradox aimed at him and Benny.

He quickly laid the limp form of his friend against the wall and made a mental note to keep the fighting away from that wall.

      "Are you ready to fight back now?" Paradox asked, his face contorted into a sneering smile.

Gohan set his jaw in a firm, determined line and fell into his fighting stance.

Paradox flew, full speed, towards Gohan and they engaged in a furious, airborne battle. Fists locked with fists. Kicks were blocked with countering kicks of flailing arms. The battle went on at this fast pace for about ten minutes. Paradox and Gohan matched each other in every aspect and were both waiting for the other to make a mistake.

Paradox, knowing that Gohan can sense ki levels, fluctuated his ki to put the demi-saiyan off.

Gohan jolted. What was going on with Paradox's ki, it was getting smaller, then larger, then smaller again?

Paradox found Gohan's mistake and his fist connected with the boy's jaw. Gohan crashed heavily to the floor. He groaned in pain, before getting up and wiping away the crimson liquid trickling out the side of his mouth. He glared up at Paradox, daring him to attack again.

       "You won't last much longer, boy." Paradox said, aiming a death glare at the young hybrid.

Gohan found himself adopting a Vegeta esque smirk.

       "That's what your partner told me just before I killed him." He said, confidently.

Paradox growled and charged towards Gohan, ready to punch. Gohan quickly threw his arms up to block, but his over-confidence betrayed him and Paradox's fist got past Gohan's arms and caught him square between the eyes.

Gohan staggered backwards, his head spinning as the blood rushed, furiously, to his head. His vision blurred as all he saw in front of him were black, fuzzy spots. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear Paradox's evil laughter fill the hot, claustrophobic air around him.

Gohan shook his head, trying to clear his vision, a sharp pain diving through his eyes.

Eventually Gohan had regained partial sight. Enough to see that Paradox was forming a strange ki blast in the palm of his hand. He squinted, trying to further improve his sight. The blast wasn't one that he was familiar with and he knew a lot of different techniques, especially since he'd been up on Namek.

Before Gohan had decided what to do, Paradox released the blast, which was glowing an eerie green colour. It immediately engulfed the young half-breed, leaving a large, green cloud of smoke in the spot where he had stood.

            Gohan was shrouded in darkness as the magical ki blast connected with his own ki. The green blast turned into a deadly cloud of smoke on impact, which started giving off deadly fumes, which immediately flew up Gohan's nostrils and tried to force their way into his firmly closed mouth.

As the fumes settled into Gohan's lungs, the boy began to choke uncontrollably, gasping for clean air. He fell to his knees choking up blood now, as the fumes started eating away at his insides. (a/n: not literally)

       I've got to get out of here! He yelled, mentally.

            Paradox looked at the green cloud of smoke, a puzzled look on his face. He could still sense the boy's power level quite clearly. The fumes should have killed him by now. What was he made of?

Then, suddenly, a strong wind picked up, forcing the green smoke off of the demi-saiyan and out of the warehouse, before eventually dissolving in the cold air outside.

Paradox watched his attack blow into thin air, then averted his gaze back to the hybrid child.

Gohan was kneeling on the floor, wiping blood off his chin with one hand and sweat off his forehead with the other hand. His onyx-coloured eyes were wide in surprise.

Paradox slowly nodded, as he realised what Gohan had just done. He'd called up the wind, just like he'd done with the water when he was fighting Bob.

        "Very clever, young saiyan, but, answer me this. How were you able to stay alive when the fumes installed themselves into your lungs so efficiently?" Paradox asked, awaiting Gohan's response impatiently.

Gohan stared at Paradox as if he had gone mad. Now he thought about it, he did wonder how he had survived that. The fumes should have killed him, and then he got those strange Latin-esque words fed into his speech and the smoke was blown away.

       "I don't know." Gohan replied, but not really to Paradox. His words came out all muffled and strained as his lungs tried to get used to the good air again.

Paradox glanced around the warehouse, the look in his eye giving the impression that he was somewhat bored of his surroundings. He smiled evilly.

      "You're about to see something not many of my victims live to see." Paradox said, his grin transforming into an evil smirk.

Gohan stared up at Paradox, fear evident in his eyes, wondering what the villain had in store for him now.

            Paradox leaned over so that his forehead pointed diagonally up, his bare feet were shoulder width apart, and his ki skyrocketed.

Gohan watched in horror as the turquoise skin on top of Paradox's bare head started rippling, like disturbed water. The rippling skin then started to peel back towards his ears. A strange hissing noise accompanied the action, and a nauseous smell of decaying flesh filled the air.

A flash of blinding light flew out of the fleshless part of Paradox's head, and the next thing Gohan knew was that a strong wind was tugging at him. He looked at the position Paradox's head was pointed and saw the tornado thingy that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

The powerful wind blew out of the wormhole, sucking up anything which was loose inside the warehouse. Benny was swallowed up first by the tornado, his limp body floating with no resistance into the void.

       "Benny!" Gohan cried, trying to keep both feet on the ground, his situation reminding him of Garlic Jnr and the dead zone.

Paradox laughed, his body still bent over, as he made the winds stronger by raising his ki. 

Gohan gave up, allowing himself to be sucked into the tornado. He had to find Benny before something bad happened to him.

Paradox grinned triumphantly and flew into his self-created void, the only one of the three time travellers who knew of their destination.

End chapter.

There you go, chapter 13 completed. Where are Gohan and Benny headed and what added dangers await them in this new time zone? R&R and you'll find out. Thanks for reading the chappie. Lol. ^_^


	14. Ice Age

A/N: Well kind of a 100 review special. I'm just gonna thank you all individually for reviewing chapter 13. So here goes. 

         **Otepoti**: Thanks, glad you liked it.

          **P.L.S**.: Sorry about it being short, and this one isn't exactly long either, oh well. 

                     Yeah, I never read any of Sailor Saturn's stuff, coincidences, huh?

                      Thankies for reviewing.  

          **Ria**: Ha, this one's short too, and another cliffy. Heehee. Thanks for reviewing.

          **The other white meat**: Yeah poor Benny…! Here's the next chappie. Thanks

                                                 for Review.

          **Fred**: Well, what can I say? You were review 100. Thankies.

          **Vegeta-513**: Thanks a lot. Glad you like it.

          **Ooshii Kurai**: Yeah, but I can kill Gohan if I want now cos he's going to a 

                                  different timeline. Don't worry, I won't. Thankies.

          **Aleandra the dark one**: Here's the update, you can speak to me now. Heehee. 

                                                    Thanks for your review.  

Anyway, here's the chapter. Sorry for the wait.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of its characters. 

                                                               Chapter 14: Ice age 

            Gohan slowly opened his eyes. The drop from the exit of the wormhole had been quite a large one and he had landed awkwardly, his left arm cushioning the rest of his body. He checked that his arm aren't gotten too numb and then looked around at his surrounds.

He was surrounded by dark, blue water, which looked very cold and deep. He was seated on a cold, hard surface, and when he looked down at it, he realised he was seated upon an ice-burg.

His teeth started chattering and his knees trembled as the cold air hissed around his ears. He jumped to his feet as if he'd just sat on a drawing pin. The coldness of the ice-burg finally taking effect.

      "Benny!" Gohan shouted, trying to project his voice over the increasing wind, whistling around the ice-burg, frantically searching for his helpless friend.

      "Looking for this?" Paradox's cold voice rose above the wind.

Gohan turned around and Paradox emerged out of the blizzard, which had just blown up. The tall humanoid was holding Benny up by the collar. Benny's head hung limply forward, but the rise and fall of his chest reassured Gohan that he was still very much alive.

      "Let him go!" Gohan shouted, his voice rising in anger.

      "Okay." Paradox agreed, smirking.

He threw Benny into the freezing cold water. The young boy started sinking straight away, as the dark, blue water consumed his limp body ravenously. 

      "Benny!" Gohan shouted, desperately.

He flung himself into the water. The freezing, cold temperature stabbed at his skin like a thousand needles.

Gohan swam strongly, doing his best to block out the pain of the freezing cold water surrounding him, keeping his mind on one goal: to reach Benny and pull him to the surface without blacking out through lack of air and body warmth.

After several strokes, Gohan caught up with his friend's sinking form. He thrust his right arm towards Benny's limp arm, only just managing to t grasp a handful of the sleeve of his shirt and then set about pulling him back up to the surface.

Hang on, Benny! Gohan thought, not really taking much notice about his own loss of air.

Gohan thrashed his way to the surface, his lungs screaming for air and his whole body longing for the warmth. He got a better hold of Benny and then hauled him up onto the ice-burg. He was about to pull himself up onto the cold, solid object, when Paradox suddenly appeared and landed straight on Gohan's frozen hand. Before Gohan could react, Paradox kicked him in the face with his other foot and stepped off his squashed hand.

The force of the kick sent Gohan flying backwards and into the ice, cold water once more. He kept sinking, trying to bring himself back to his senses.

He finally managed to open his eyes and was shocked to see how far he had sunk already. Wondering how he could get back up to the surface without blacking out through lack of air, he suddenly remembered a technique his dad had taught him recently.                                               

He shut his eyes and quickly set about focusing the bulk of his energy to his feet. He pushed his energy to the floor, as if he was about to fly. He then shot up towards the surface like a bullet.

He burst out of the water and hovered above the ice-burg, glaring down at Paradox, who was standing over Benny, arms folded, with a nasty smirk on his face.

      "Leave Benny alone!" Gohan screamed, charging towards Paradox, fists raised ready to attack.

Paradox put his own fists up, ready to block Gohan's attack, which came with such force that Paradox only just managed to stop himself from falling to the floor.

Gohan had the brightest white aura surrounding him that Paradox had ever seen. Even his eyes seemed to be dancing like fire. The boy's face was creased into an angry mask, which actually had Paradox a little scared. Yet, the small half-breed seemed to be stuck between two conflicting minds because he just stood there, an almost confused look showing through the fire in his eyes.

Paradox decided to use the demi-saiyan's hesitation to his advantage. He picked up the limp form of Gohan's scruffy, orphan friend and recited a short spell.

Gohan didn't know what to do next. He'd used his fury to throw a powerful punch and yet, Paradox didn't even fall over. How was he meant to beat him when his punch was virtually ineffective?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Paradox holding Benny up by the scruff of the neck.

       "Put him down!" Gohan shouted, in the loudest possible voice an under-sized nine year old could muster.

Paradox smirked evilly and spoke the final word of his spell, pointing a long finger straight at the young orphan boy's heart. A jet of green light shot out of his fingertip and flew straight into Benny's heart. 

        "No! Benny!" Gohan cried, rushing towards his friend.

Paradox dropped the boy to the ground, laughing almost uncontrollably. Benny's skin was turning a nasty shade of grey. The material of his shirt covering the area where his heart was, was singed and ripped, and the skin underneath had a green tinge to it. 

Gohan skidded to a halt just as he reached Benny and let out a strangled cry as he realised Benny's ki had disappeared. His life force was completely gone too.

The young demi-saiyan stared at his friend, who was no longer a resident of the living world. Why did he have to die? Why was he never able to prevent his friends from being killed?

Paradox's continued laughter averted Gohan's eyes to him. The onyx eyes no longer looked like they were on fire. They were full of sorrow and pain, for the loss of a good friend.

On seeing Paradox, Gohan's emotions changed again. His eyes filled with anger and hate. Thoughts of revenge clouded his mind.

Paradox stopped laughing and replaced his smirk with a surprised expression. The boy's ki was skyrocketing. His white aura was glowing brighter and brighter. His onyx eyes were changing colour, getting lighter until they rested on a turquoise colour. His spiky black hair was also changing colour. It burst out in a bright blonde and his aura flashed golden.

Paradox stumbled back a few paces and gawped at the transforming child, unable to utter a single sound.

Gohan felt the power welling up inside of him. His anger at losing Benny awakening the power which, until now, had laid hidden somewhere deep inside of him.

      "I'll never let you get away with that!" Gohan said, his voice cold and clear. His eyes burning in all their turquoise glory.

His golden aura melted the ice around him as he marched towards Paradox, determination evident in every step.

End Chapter.

Sorry for ending it there, but I wanted to get this chapter out before I finished college for Easter, otherwise you would have had to wait two weeks. Besides I think its an excellent place to leave it. *evil grin* Please R&R. Thankies. ^_^


	15. Gohan, the Super Saiyan!

A/N: Well here is the long-awaited chapter 15. Big apologies, again, for the wait. I found 

         this chapter difficult to write, as I do for all fighting scenes. Anyway. Here it is.

         Read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/DBZ/DBGT. So there.

**                                      Chapter 15: Gohan, the Super Saiyan!**

            Paradox took to the air as the boy's energy melted away the iceberg. He hovered high above, carefully watching the hybrid's movements, waiting for his opportunity to attack.

Gohan, having noticed how quickly the iceberg was melting, picked up Benny's lifeless body and took to the air, leaving the remains of the iceberg to sink down into the depths.

The young demi-saiyan flew towards the closest stable iceberg and carefully placed his young friend's body down on the cold surface. He then flew up again and over to Paradox's position.

       "Your just a cold-hearted murderer." Gohan said, his voice as icy as the water below them. "I won't rest until I destroy you." The demi-saiyan added, raising his balled fists, ready to attack.

       "Do you really think you can beat me, boy?"  Paradox asked, his tone pure evil. 

Gohan nearly laughed. "My power exceeds yours by far now." He said, confidence flooding through him.

A smug grin flashed across Paradox's face. "Up to now I have been using about half my power, so that I could make this fight a bit more interesting." He boasted.

Gohan masked his shock. "You're bluffing." He accused the humanoid. "Anyway, even if you aren't bluffing, I'll still have more power than you." He added, confidently.

Paradox smirked. "We'll see. We'll see." He replied, in a mocking tone.

The turquoise humanoid then started to raise his power level, keeping true to his word.

Gohan folded his arms, almost Vegeta esque, and started whistling, glaring impatiently at Paradox.

When Paradox's increase in power was complete, Gohan had to mask his shock again. Paradox hadn't been bluffing at all. His power was only slightly smaller than the demi-saiyan's now.

        "How do you feel about fighting me now, boy?" Paradox asked, his smirk radiating confidence.

Despite Gohan's anewed fear of this upcoming battle, he returned the villain's smirk. "Bring it on." He said, his voice as cold and solid as steel.

Paradox gave a harsh, sharp laugh and charged towards the demi-saiyan in attack. Gohan put his hands up ready to block the initial volley of punches thrown at him. They exchanged punches and kicks at super speed for the best part of 15 minutes, before either of them showed any signs of tiring.

Paradox pulled back first, knowing that if the fight carried on like this, the boy would win through his superior endurance levels.

Gohan stared at his turquoise-coloured foe, who was breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath.

       "Your not really that powerful." The young hybrid mused, carefully scrutinizing every aspect of the tall humanoid. A technique Piccolo had been boring into him recently.

      "Maybe so." Paradox agreed." But I'm more powerful than you in every other aspect apart from fighting strength." He carried on, a superior smile crossing his features.

Gohan folded his arms again and returned Paradox's smile. "I think fighting strength will win this battle." He returned, confidently.

       "Enough chatter." Paradox snarled, angry at Gohan's continuing confidence.

       "Fine by me." Gohan replied, falling back into his airborne fighting stance. "You can even have a free hit on me." The confident demi-saiyan added, arrogantly.

Paradox's eyes lit up at this offer and he quickly mutted something under his breath.

Gohan watched in horror as a long, shiny, silvery thing shot out of Paradox's fingertip and coiled itself round his torso. Immediately it tightened itself, squeezing the small boy like a grape.

       "How do you like my disabling rope spell?" Paradox asked, smirking evilly as he watched the demi-saiyan squirm in pain as the silver rope clung round him like a snake.

I can't break free! Gohan screamed in his mind. He focused all his newly acquired Super Saiyan strength into escaping the shiny binding but to no avail. The more he struggled, the tighter the rope became. He felt like he might sick his insides up if it squeezed him any tighter.

Paradox watched in satisfaction as the golden glow surrounding the hybrid child dulled down to the faint white aura once more. The boy's golden tresses changed back to their original jet-black hair and his pain stricken, turquoise eyes changed to black again. The expression in his eyes became very distant and they started to glaze over, as his silvery binds squeezed the life out of him.

Gohan was in too much pain to scream out loud, the binds just got tighter and tighter. Even after claiming his Super Saiyan powers, the rope continued to squeeze him. His vision started to blur and, had the rope not been holding him in the air, he would have dropped to the freezing water below. Images of his mother and father flashed through his mind; both of them were smiling warmly at him, all the love a parent could put into one smile. The happy image fazed out and was replaced with one of Emerald. The old lady was saying something but Gohan couldn't hear her. It was like the volume had been turned down on a television set. Gohan had to try and read the urgent movement of her lips, but it was so difficult, her just couldn't keep his mind focused. Emerald's image faded and darkness started to engulf him as his binding knocked all the air out of his lungs.

Paradox watched as the demi-saiyan went limp and chuckled evilly.

       "Almost too easy." He said to the unconscious boy, folding his arms together and staring across at the hybrid's unmoving figure.

He flicked his hand lazily towards the boy and the limp figure fell down and hit the water, making a loud splash and a fountain of water spray up.

Paradox stared down at the ripples his victim had created, failing to notice the spell thrown in his direction. It hit him head on, locking him inside a seemingly impenetrable bubble. He turned round and, through the bubble, saw his oldest enemy staring back up at him from her position on a nearby iceberg. 

       "It'll take you a while to burst out of that." Emerald shouted up at him, before turning her head towards the spot where Gohan had fallen. "Hang on, Gohan." She whispered and started concentrating on her levitation spell.

Paradox stared down at the old woman, his face twisted in fury. She was going to ruin everything, again. Just like last time, when she locked him in the time limbo. He wouldn't let it happen again. He racked through his memory banks, trying to remember the correct counter spell for this imprisoning bubble.

Emerald chanted her spell and slowly moved her hands in an upward gesture. Gradually bubbles appeared on the surface of the water. These were followed by ripples, moving outwards, creating large circles. Finally the prone figure of the demi-saiyan rose to the surface, his limp body floated over Emerald's head and landed gently on the frozen ground behind her.

Emerald quickly spun round and knelt down beside the unconscious child. She pointed a long finger at the boy's silvery bindings and they disappeared. She then started reciting a healing spell and carefully placed her hands over Gohan's chest and abdomen

Paradox grew angrier as he witnessed the reappearance of Gohan. He clenched his fists so hard the knuckles turned white and made cracking noises. He was chanting every possible incantation, trying to break free of the stubborn bubble. Now that witch was healing the boy. He had been so close to ridding the world of its potential saviour.

Gohan slowly opened his eyes, the healing spell refreshing all his lost energy and healing most of his wounds; internal and external. The small boy gazed in wonder at his aging saviour.

       "Emerald?" He whispered, weakly, a confused look in his onyx eyes.

Emerald smiled reassuringly at him. "I'll explain everything later." She promised. Her smile then changed into a frown. "If you hadn't let your new power go to your head, you could have beaten him by now." She scolded him, her tone very stern.

Gohan eyes widened in surprise. He never thought Emerald would use such a stern voice. He propped himself up on one elbow and gazed apologetically into the old lady's eyes.

        "I'm sorry, Emerald." He said, rather sheepishly. "Thanks for saving my life." He added, before averting his eyes to where Paradox struggled with his bubble prison, his eyes widened again. "How did you…?" 

        "Like I said, I'll explain later. He'll recite the correct counter spell any minute. Hurry up and get yourself ready for battle again." Emerald ordered urgently, as she keenly eyed Paradox's progress.

Gohan jumped to his feet, the urgency in her voice catching his full attention. He immediately began to power up but found it extremely difficult to reach Super Saiyan again. He remembered how he reached that level last time and started thinking about how he felt when Paradox had killed Benny.

Emerald watched in shock as the young child started yelling in anger. Strong winds blew up all around and the iceberg started flashing gold and his eyes changed colour to a piercing turquoise. Emerald quickly chanted a self-levitation spell and floated herself up and away from the enormous amount of energy the demi-saiyan was emitting.

Paradox burst out of the bubble just in time to witness Gohan's awesome power increase. He had to steady himself a great deal just to stop himself from being blown away by the strong winds. The boy was even more powerful than before. His near death experience must have strengthened him some how.

Gohan, now fully charged, glared up at the humanoid, pure hate in his young eyes.

         "I'm gonna put you down for good." Gohan shouted, his fists clenched into tight balls.

Paradox stared fearfully down at Gohan as the young demi took to the air and charged directly towards him.

Gohan landed a punch straight in Paradox's stomach, sending the humanoid reeling backwards. Gohan flew after him at lightening speed and brought his fists down on Paradox's back, sending him crashing down to the freezing water below.

Gohan then flew slowly down, stopping just above sea level.

        "Come out! There's no use in hiding." Gohan shouted, angrily, and then started to send a volley of ki blasts down into the water.

The blasts caused huge fountains of water to spray up and eventually Paradox flew out of as well. He was completely out of breath, panting like a sick dog.

        "You've got him, Gohan. Finish it!" Emerald shouted from somewhere behind the demi-saiyan's current position.

Gohan stared icily at Paradox and brought his hands together in front of him.

        "This is it, Paradox. This is for Benny and anyone else you've killed!" Gohan shouted, concentrating his energy into his hands.

        "Ka…Me…Ha…Me!" He brought his hands to his side, the energy building up in them rapidly. "Haaaa!" He brought his hands forward once more and released the blast straight at Paradox, continuing to pump his energy into the attack.

Paradox put his arms up to block the blast but it was too big and the energy engulfed him.

The resulting explosion shook the whole area and the water erupted in huge fountains everywhere. Gohan spun round and saw that Emerald had saved Benny's body from becoming a permanent resident at the bottom of the sea.

Paradox's energy had completely disappeared. Gohan breathed a huge sigh of relief and fell out of his Super Saiyan form and it took all of his remaining strength just to stay airborne.

Emerald floated over, Benny cradled in her arms. She smiled at the weary nine year old in front of her.

        "You did it, Gohan. I'm very proud of you." She said, her emerald eyes twinkling with respect.

End chapter.

Well, this story is nearly over. Just one more chapter to wrap things up. Please r&r and I'll try and update soon but I'm bogged down with exams at the mo. ^_^ 


	16. Reunions

A/N: This chapter took longer to write up than I had anticipated because I've had loads of interruptions like looking at possible Universities I might go to. Anywho, its here now and it is the last chapter but I decided to write an epilogue, which should be out either by the end of the week or sometime next week.          Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball/Z/Gt.                                                                                  Chapter 16: Reunions 

            Gohan stared dejectedly at Benny's corpse as he kneeled down in front of where Emerald had set his friend on the ice. Emerald stood the other side of Benny.

       "He shouldn't have died!" Gohan exclaimed, his voice rigged with emotion. "It's because of me that he was involved in the first place and I couldn't save him." 

Emerald watched the grief-stricken child descend into tears, his high-emotion fuelled words hanging in the air. He shouldn't have to go through this at his tender age, she thought sadly.

She walked round the orphan's lifeless body and kneeled down beside the young hybrid. She wrapped a comforting arm around the boy's slight shoulders.

Gohan looked up into her namesake eyes, tears still caught in the corners of his eyes.

       "Why did he have to die?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Emerald stared blankly at the child. How was she meant to answer that? Her eyes suddenly brightened considerably as she suddenly remembered something her late mother had taught her all those years ago.

Gohan stared at the old woman in confusion. His best friend had just died and she was kneeling there beside him with a huge grin on her face. Didn't she have any feelings? He was about to express his feelings in a very angry manner, when Emerald stared talking, slowly and clearly.

       "The spell Paradox used to kill Benny is a common one and my own mother came up with a way to counter it." Emerald paused, waiting for Gohan's reaction.

       "You mean we can bring Benny back to life?" Gohan asked slowly, his quick mind working over time.

Emerald nodded, smiling. That boy never fails to amaze me, she thought, he's not fazed at all at the prospect of bringing back the dead.

       "But how can a counter spell bring back the dead?" Gohan asked, confused.

       "Gohan, you really cared about Benny didn't you?" Emerald asked, mysteriously. 

The young demi looked even more confused. "Of course! He had become a really great friend." Gohan replied, staring at the aged witch in bewilderment. 

       "Well then, that's how the counter spell can bring back the dead." Emerald said, earning an extremely confused look from the nine year old. 

       "What do you mean?" Gohan asked, getting slightly irritated with Emerald's riddles.

       "Remarkable. The power you have and yet still you are as impatient as the next child." Emerald mused, staring carefully at the young hybrid.

       "Hey! That's not fair!" Gohan shouted, immediately taking offence. "I just lost my best friend and you want me to keep up my unwavering politeness? Can't you see that I'm really upset and would just like to know what exactly you're getting at? His words ended abruptly as he descended into weary sobbing.

 Emerald stared sadly at the child again. He had completed his mission, her mission, and yet she was still having to test him. Of course she had to make absolutely sure that he was up for this counter spell. He was the key element in it after all. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders again and spoke gently in his ear.

       "It's okay now, Gohan. You've passed my little test. I'm so sorry. I'll explain everything now."

Gohan's choked cries subsided and he stared up into her piercing eyes once more.

       "Okay." He encouraged in a quiet whisper.

       "The counter spell my mother came up with isn't too difficult but there is a certain thing it needs. That's where you come in, Gohan. Your dedication to your friend is the key element to make this spell work." Emerald paused for breath.

Gohan nodded to show Emerald he was taking her words in.

       "I want you to tap into your magical powers I gave you and mix it with your ki. Then you must channel it to me. I will do the rest." Emerald explained, staring intently at the small, worn-out child.

Gohan, weary as he was, concentrated hard on what she told him but still felt confused about it.

       "I'm not quite sure what you mean. How am I meant to mix my magical powers with my ki? The magic just happened spontaneously each time, I don't know how to tap into it at will." He explained, a look of hopelessness crossing his features.

Emerald looked taken aback at this comment but was quick to hide it.

       "Well let me teach you to find it then. When you tap into your ki, you search for the glowing energy from the very centre of you're being, right?" Emerald said, looking to Gohan to agree with her.

       "Right." Gohan agreed, wondering where this was going.

       "Well if you look just off the centre of you're being, you will find a different sort of energy. The feel of it is very distinct. It isn't hard to control it once you've found it. Try now." Emerald explained, before nodding to Gohan to begin.

Gohan nodded and sat down in the position Piccolo taught him for meditating; legs crossed, arms crossed, and head slightly bowed. He immediately concentrated on the centre of his being, like he had done the first time he learnt to manipulate his ki. The powerful energy that was his ki beckoned him eagerly but the determined demi-saiyan blocked it out, searching for the unfamiliar magical energy within him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gohan felt it. The distinct feel of it meant it couldn't be anything else but it, just like Emerald had said. In some ways it felt the same as his ki but there was a distinct difference. He couldn't quite place his finger on it but he had a feeling that if he brought this energy out, rather than glowing yellow like his ki, it would glow an eerie green colour, sort of like Emerald's eyes.

       "I found it." Gohan said, coming out of his meditation.

       "That's excellent, Gohan. Now you can manipulate it in the same way that you do with your ki." Emerald replied, her positive tone encouraging the demi-saiyan. 

Gohan reached inside himself once more and pulled out what looked like a ball of ki but, like he had thought, it glowed green.

      "You got it, Gohan." Emerald applauded, her eyes gleaming even greener from the light emitting from Gohan's magical energy. "Now you can mix it with your ki. Just imagine them merging together and that should mix them inside of you." 

Gohan nodded and let the green sphere merge back into his body again. He then shut his eyes and his face creased in concentration.

Emerald watched with interest as the young boy was surrounded in a blue aura; the yellow and green of his ki and magical energy merging together.

Emerald worked her own magical energy, surrounding herself in a green aura. She walked forward and brought Gohan's hands to her shoulders, so that they're magic connected. 

The blue and green auras clashed together and spiralled outwards in a blinding flash of light, engulfing the lifeless form of the young orphan boy.

The whole area was filled with the blinding light, emitted by the two powerful auras. No shape could be made out for a couple of minutes, until the light faded out.

Emerald collapsed to her knees, next to the already seated form of Gohan. The demi-saiyan was gasping for air, his already low energy being sapped further due to the huge amount of energy required for the spell.

On seeing that the young warrior wasn't in a life-threatening position, the elderly witch shifted her gaze to where Benny lay. The young orphan's cheeks had colour in them once more. The counter spell had worked! Emerald sighed in relief. 

Gohan felt completely drained but all they're efforts seemed to have paid off because he could feel his friend's familiar ki once more. He forced himself to his feet, with a great deal of effort, and walked over to where Benny lay.

Benny slowly opened his eyes. This was so strange! He could have sworn he was dead but now it appeared he was back on earth again. Maybe he had been brought back by the Dragonballs. Gohan had told him they could bring people back from the dead. His blurry vision cleared and the onyx eyes of his friend came into view. 

Gohan had to mentally stop himself from cheering out loud as Benny opened his eyes. The spell really had worked! He couldn't believe it. He thought the only way to bring back the dead was with the Dragonballs. 

       "G…Gohan? Is that really you?" Benny's voice was weak and confused.

Gohan beamed. "It sure is pal. How are you feeling?" He asked.

       "As good as new." Benny joked, pulling himself up to a sitting position.

Gohan laughed and sat down beside his friend, ignoring the freezing cold ice below him. He set about explaining to Benny what had happened since the orphan had lost consciousness. 

       "So you and Emerald brought me back to life with a special spell? Cool!" Benny said, after listening to Gohan's explanations. 

Gohan beamed again, just happy that Benny was alive again. He then turned to Emerald.

       "I just want to know how you got in this time?" The hybrid asked, his interest clearly visible.

Emerald's face crinkled into a smile. "You didn't think Paradox was the only one able to perform a time travel spell did you?" She asked, her face twisted into a mock hurt expression. 

Gohan returned her smile. "Oh." He replied before letting out a huge yawn.

        "I think we have one very tired demi-saiyan." Emerald said, laughing.          

Gohan gave a trademark Son grin and nodded a silent agreement.

        "Okay then. I think I better get you back to your mother and father. I'm sure they're worried sick about you." Emerald said, regaining some of her strength.

Gohan's face brightened considerably at this until he suddenly remembered something. 

       "What about Benny?" He asked, concerned for his friend.

Emerald smiled. "I don't think it would be right for him to go with you, so I've decided he can stay with me. If he would like to of course?" She offered, turning to the shivering ten year old.

Benny looked up, eyes shining at the prospect of a proper home instead of that awful workhouse.

       "I would love to." He gushed, his grin so broad it covered the entire length of his lower face.

Gohan, although saddened by the fact that Benny wouldn't be staying with him, gave his friend an encouraging pat on the back.

       "You'll do great with Emerald." Gohan said, happy for his friend.

Benny nodded but tears were evident in the corner of his eyes. He grabbed his friend in a tight embrace, causing tears to well in the demi-saiyan's eyes as well. 

       "I'll never forget you, Gohan." Benny promised, before drawing back from they're embrace.

       "Me either." Gohan replied, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Emerald walked over to the two boys. "It's time, Gohan." She said. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Benny." 

Gohan nodded and stood up. He allowed Emerald to touch him lightly on the forehead as she recited her spell. He lifted his hand in a wave to Benny and then the scene in font of him was gone. He found himself back in the sea of time and then he lost consciousness.

            Gohan woke up. He felt the feel of soft fabric under his head. He slowly opened his eyes. He thought he must be dreaming, but he saw the soft eyes of his mother and father looking down at him. 

       "Mom? Dad?" He asked in a weary voice.

Chi-Chi wrapped her arms around her son's shoulders and brought him up into a heartful embrace.

       "Oh Gohan! I was so worried about you." She said, tears dropping into his mass of coal, black hair.

Gohan wrapped his arms around his mother's waist and breathed in her familiar scent, making sure this really was happening and wasn't just another one of those dreams.

Mother and son finally drew apart when Goku noisily cleared his throat, impatience getting the better of him.

Gohan gazed up at the man he idolized so much. "How did I get here?" He asked, indicating his bed with a slight nod of his head.

       "As soon as I felt your ki again, I instant-translocated to you. You were in a pretty bad shape; torn clothes that looked years out of date, very low on energy and when I touched your hand it was frozen. So I quickly instant-translocated you back here. Your mother then dressed you in your pyjamas and tucked you up in bed. You've been out for a good nine hours." Goku stopped, out of breath from his unusually long speech.

Gohan nodded. "I missed you a lot." He said, gazing at both his parents." With that said, his head hit the pillow once more for some more well earned sleep.

        "I guess we can get him to explain where he's been for the past week and a half when he wakes up." Chi-Chi said, smiling at the sleeping form of her safely returned son. 

Goku nodded in agreement although was secretly disappointed that he'd have to wait to hear about his small son's adventures. 

End chapter.

Well, there you go, that was quite a long chappie wasn't it? I had to bring Benny back because my friend was gonna kill me if I didn't and using the Dragonballs just wasn't original, therefore I took ages explaining a different way to do it. Just in case anyone was wondering. Please r&r and I'll put up the epilogue soon. Ja ne.


	17. Epilogue

A/N: Well here's the final part of my first ever fanfiction. I really just want to thank          everybody who has taken the time to read and/or review my fic. I have enjoyed          reading you're reviews. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Hopefully this epilogue          isn't too lame. 

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/DBZ/DBGT. So don't sue.

                                                       Epilogue 

Gohan traipsed upstairs having just eaten a gloriously large breakfast, racing with his dad to see who could eat the most at the fastest speed. Goku won of course. It had taken a while for Gohan appetite to return since his adventure in the past, but now, six months down the line and plenty of his mom's home cooked meals, he was eating Saiyan-sized portions once more.

Of course his mom had started nagging him about his studying almost straight away. He had just had enough time to explain briefly about what happened in the past, to his dad, before being dragged away by his mom.

That was where he was heading now, upstairs to study. He had more than made up for the studying he missed while he was stranded in the past but his mom was still as obsessed as ever with making him study. 

He sat down at his desk and took his Science book out of a draw. Turning to page 79, where he had left his bookmark, he settled down, pen in hand, and started making notes in his workbook.

      "Gohan, your father and I are just nipping down the supermarket. Keep studying, okay?" Chi-Chi called up the stairs.

      "Okay, mom." Gohan replied.

He looked at his bedside clock. He had been studying for the best part of an hour since he had finished his breakfast. He leaned back in his chair, the two front legs leaving the ground, stretching his arms out over his head. He lolled his head back, stretching out his neck, and promptly lost his balance and crashed heavily to the floor. The sight his upside down vision had seen had made him lose his concentration.

      "Are you alright, Gohan?" 

Gohan quickly pulled himself to his feet at the sound of the familiar voice. He hadn't been seeing things then?

      "I'm fine, Emerald." He assured the witch. "What are you doing here?" He asked in bewilderment.  

      "I can answer that."

Gohan watched in pure elation as the owner of the voice walked out from behind Emerald.     

      "Benny!" He yelled, joyfully. "You look so…different."

Benny grinned. He had shot up in height in the last six months and was now a whole head taller than Gohan. He'd had a haircut so that now his wavy, brown locks rested neatly around his ears and his fringe was short enough not to get in his eyes. Instead of the ragged, workhouse clothes, he wore a neat, tailor-fitted suit and shiny, black shoes.

      "You look really…grand." Gohan said, after taking in his friend's appearance.

Benny's grin broadened. "You wanted to know what we're doing here?" He asked.

Gohan nodded his head vigorously.

      "Well, it's my eleventh birthday today and Emerald asked me what I wanted to do. So…" Benny paused, grinning happily.

Gohan bounded up to Benny and threw his arms round his neck.

       "So you asked her if you could come and see me." Gohan finished, matching his friend's happy grin.

They separated from they're embrace and Gohan moved over to give Emerald a hug. Emerald smiled and wrapped her aged arms round his shoulders.

When the greetings were done, Gohan offered his bed for Emerald and Benny to sit and then sat down on his desk chair again.

     "How long are you here for?" Gohan asked, still wearing a big grin.

     "I'm afraid we won't be able to stay for very long." Emerald replied, regretfully. "My magic is getting weaker as I grow older. So I would say ten minutes here before the spell reverses itself.

Gohan's smile faded slightly in disappointment but he quickly perked up again.

       "Never mind, I mean you can come again, right?" The demi-saiyan asked, eagerly.

Emerald shook her head. "Like I said, my magic is getting weaker. It would drain me too much to do this again. I also think its not right to keep hopping back and forth through time. I think its better that this will be our one and only visit here." 

Gohan looked as though he might argue with this philosophy but he quickly bit his tongue, remembering he only had ten minutes before he would never see Benny again.

       "I understand." He conceded, bowing his dark head slightly.

Benny bounded up to Gohan again, a grin spread widely across his face.   

       "Don't be too sad, Gohan. I came here to celebrate my birthday with you." He said, staring earnestly at the demi-saiyan. 

Gohan's face immediately brightened, as he had a sudden idea. He reached inside his desk draw and pulled out a capsule. He pressed the activation button and a small, compact looking Polaroid camera popped out of it. He smiled at the welcome home present Bulma had given him.   

       "What is that?" Benny asked, staring in awe at the camera.

       "It's an instant camera." Gohan answered, proudly.

       "A camera?" Benny asked, cocking an eyebrow. "They sure have got small over time. Ours are huge."

Gohan laughed. "Emerald, could you please take two pictures of me and Benny. That way can take one each and always remember each other."

Emerald smiled. "What a wonderful idea, Gohan."

She walked over to the young boy and he showed her how to use the camera. Gohan and Benny then sat side by side on the bed, grinning madly, and Emerald took two shots. The pictures zoomed out of the Polaroid, which Benny watched with some interest and each boy took one.

       "They look fab!" Benny cried. "Cor…they're in colour. These our awesome, Gohan."

Gohan grinned and then looked at his clock. They had used up nearly all they're time.

Emerald noticed his glance and nodded. "Benny, we have to go in a minute. You had better say goodbye."

Benny looked up in dismay and tears started welling in his eyes. "Time went too fast."

Gohan nodded in agreement. He then cocked his head in thought for a moment and than finally pulled something out of his pocket and gave it to Benny.

      "What is it?" Benny asked, staring at the strange packet in his hand.

      "It's pocky. My favourite type of sweet food. It's really nice." Gohan replied.

Benny nodded and clasped it tight in his hand. "Don't forget me, Gohan."

      "Course I won't." Gohan replied, waving the photo in his friend's face.

They gave each other one last hug and Gohan embraced Emerald again and then the travellers from the past started to fade.

       "Goodbye, Gohan." Benny shouted, before fading completely.

       "Goodbye, Benny. Happy Birthday." Gohan said to the air in front of him.

       "Gohan! What are you doing?" 

Gohan jumped on hearing his mom's voice, realising that his parents had returned from they're shopping trip. 

        "Just saying goodbye to some old friends." He replied, smiling at the photo he clutched in his hand.

End chapter.

Well that's it all done. I can't believe I've finally finished my first fanfiction. If anyone had any questions about my fic, either sign in or leave you're email and I'll try and answer them for you. Plz r&r.

Ja ne^_^


	18. Author's note

Author's note  
  
Okay, just a quick author note to say thanks again to everybody that reviewed my very first fanfic and to ask you all a question.   
  
My little brother really enjoyed my fic as well and after I read the epilogue to him he pleaded and pleaded with me to write a sequel. He even gave me some good plot ideas. So, I want to know if you would like a sequel and whether or not you think it would ruin things or not?  
  
So, please, either hit the review button or email me and let me know what you think. Thankies a lot. Ja ne. ^_^ 


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